Lotteries are government-run gambling games where people can win a prize by buying a ticket. The money raised by lotteries is used for public good and may help fund healthcare, education, or other social services. They also generate revenue for state and local governments. Some countries have national lotteries, while others have state or regional ones. In the United States, lottery profits are taxed.

In the US, the lottery is a popular form of entertainment, and there are numerous ways to play. Players can buy tickets at retail outlets, online, over the phone, and via mobile apps. The number of prizes and the odds of winning vary from state to state. Some lotteries require players to buy tickets in advance, while others allow players to purchase tickets at the time of the drawing.

Many states and cities regulate lotteries, but the federal government does not. Some states have their own private lottery operators, while others license third-party companies to conduct the games. In the past, there have been efforts to legalize Internet-based lotteries, but these attempts have failed.

Unlike most other countries, New Zealand does not have a single national lottery. Instead, its government controls the lottery through an autonomous Crown entity, Lotto New Zealand, which distributes its profit allocations to local charities and community organizations. These organisations include Sport and Recreation New Zealand, Creative New Zealand and the New Zealand Film Commission. The lottery has four games: the Lotto (including Powerball and Strike), Keno, Bullseye and Instant Kiwi scratch card games.

Before 1967, purchasing a lottery ticket was illegal in Canada, but an amendment to the Criminal Code changed this. Today, Canadians can play Lotto 6/49, Lotto Max, and Daily Grand in addition to regional lotteries. The Canadian provinces and territories also run their own lotteries, including Atlantic Lottery Corporation (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island), Loto-Québec, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, Western Canada Lottery Corporation (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories), and British Columbia Lottery Corporation.

For many Vietnamese poor, selling lottery tickets is their only source of income. They prefer this job over the more socially detested act of begging. The average lottery seller makes 230 000 VN-Dong per day. On lucky days, they can make more.

Saephan is one of them. He recently won the Powerball jackpot in Oregon and plans to share half of his prize with a friend. He wore a sash at his news conference that identifies him as an Iu Mien, a southeast Asian ethnic group with roots in southern China who assisted American forces during the Vietnam War and later fled to Thailand and then the United States. The sash and his win have changed his life. He and his wife, Manh, now live in the Portland suburb of Milwaukie. They work a heavy 16-hour shift each day, beginning at 5 am with a breakfast of rice and vegetable soup. During their shift they sell as many lottery tickets as possible, making a profit of around 11 US-Dollars a day on good days.