The lottery is a game of chance that allows people to win prizes for paying into the system. Prizes can be cash, goods or services. Most countries have lotteries that are operated by state-owned organizations and private companies. These companies usually set the prize amounts and the rules for the games. They also collect and pool all of the money placed as stakes for each ticket.

In the United States, 44 of the 50 states run lotteries. The six that don’t are Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Mississippi, Utah and Nevada, home to gambling mecca Las Vegas. The reasons vary: Alabama’s lack of a lottery is based on religious concerns; Hawaii’s is due to taxation issues; Utah’s is rooted in political concerns; Mississippi and Nevada’s absence is related to their own ability to draw gambling revenue from other sources.

But for those states that do offer the games, most people play regularly. Americans spend $100 billion a year on tickets. And while the winnings are small — it’s possible to buy a luxury house with just one ticket — the risk-to-reward ratio is high enough to lure many in. But the game is not for everyone: Those who play are disproportionately lower-income, less educated and nonwhite. And the games can be dangerous: Abraham Shakespeare hid under a concrete slab after winning $31 million; Jeffrey Dampier died the day after his $1 million win was announced. And dozens of other lottery winners have been killed, from the relatively tame to the downright bizarre.