lottery A lottery (or lotto) is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find som ...

is a form of

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

which involves the drawing of lots for a prize. In

decision theory Decision theory or the theory of rational choice is a branch of probability theory, probability, economics, and analytic philosophy that uses expected utility and probabilities, probability to model how individuals would behave Rationality, ratio ...

, a

is used as a generic term for any situation involving an uncertain outcome. Lottery may also refer to:

Arts and entertainment

Publications

* "

The Lottery "The Lottery" is a short story by Shirley Jackson that was first published in ''The New Yorker'' on June 26, 1948. The story describes a fictional small American community that observes an annual tradition known as "the lottery", which is int ...

", a 1948 short story by Shirley Jackson * ''Lottery'' (novel), a novel by Patricia Wood * ''Lottery'' (short story), a 1933 short story by Munshi Premchand * The Lottery (novel), a 2002 novel by Beth Goobie

Films and television

* ''The Lottery'', a 1969 film based on the short story "

" * ''The Lottery'', a 1996 TV film based on the short story "

" * ''The Lottery'' (1989 film), an American comedy short film *

Lottery (2009 film) Lottery is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language romantic thriller film starring Abhijeet Sawant in his acting debut alongside Manisha Kelkar and Rucha Gujarati. The film was produced by Govind Satnam, directed by Hemant Prabhu and written by Aadesh ...

, a Bollywood romance thriller film * ''The Lottery'' (2010 film), an American documentary film * Lottery (2018 film), an Iranian romance film * ''The Lottery'' (TV series), a 2014 drama television series * ''

Lottery! ''Lottery!'' is an American anthology series, anthologic Dramatic programming, drama that premiered on American Broadcasting Company, ABC on September 9, 1983. The series aired for one season of 17 episodes and starred Ben Murphy as Patrick Sea ...

'' (1983–1984), an American television show

Music

* Lottery (Kali Uchis song), 2015 *

Lottery (K Camp song) "Lottery", later re-titled as "Lottery (Renegade)" is a song by American rapper K Camp from his third studio album ''Wayy 2 Kritical'' (2019)''.'' It was released as the album's third single on April 1, 2019, by Rare Sound and Interscope Records. ...

, 2019 * Lottery (Latto song), 2023 * "Lottery", a 2007 song by Chris Brown from '' Exclusive''

Sports

Lottery (horse) Lottery was the winner of the 1839 Grand National steeplechase at Aintree, near Liverpool, England. This was recorded by the press of the time as the fourth running, but the previous three races, run at Maghull, failed to capture the imaginatio ...

, a 19th-century champion racehorse *

NBA draft lottery The NBA draft lottery is an annual event held by the National Basketball Association (NBA), in which the teams who had missed the playoffs the previous year participate in a lottery process to determine the draft order in the NBA draft. The NBA d ...

, a lottery used to determine the draft order in the National Basketball Association * NHL draft lottery, a lottery used to determine the draft order in the National Hockey League

Other uses

* Lottery (probability), a concept used in expected utility theory * Lottery voting, an electorate system * Mountain Road Lottery, a lottery sponsored by George Washington in 1768 *

Postcode lottery In the United Kingdom, the postcode lottery is the unequal provision of services such as healthcare, education and insurance prices depending on the geographic area or postcode. Postcodes can directly affect the services an area can obtain, such ...

, a phrase used in the United Kingdom to describe the differences in services depending on geographic location *

Cleromancy Cleromancy is a form of sortition (casting of lots) in which an outcome is determined by means that normally would be considered random, such as the rolling of dice ( astragalomancy), but that are sometimes believed to reveal the will of a deit ...