A lottery is a form of chance used to allocate a prize. It may be used to award a unit in a subsidized housing complex, placements on a sports team among equally competing players, or cash prizes. To participate in a lottery, a person must purchase a ticket. The tickets are then mixed and a winner is selected randomly. The process is sometimes used to select people for jobs, as well.
A typical lotteries offers a number of prize levels, with larger prizes drawing more participants. A percentage of the proceeds is usually allocated for organizing and promoting the lottery, and a smaller percentage goes to the winners. Some societies have laws requiring a certain percentage of the prize money to be paid as taxes.
Many governments have legalized gambling. Some argue that since people are going to gamble anyway, the government might as well profit from their activities. Others object that this argument ignores moral considerations. Some states have passed legislation that prohibits the sale of heroin, while other states sell it to raise funds for public services.
The story of Lottery presents a clear theme of hypocrisy and evil in the human nature. The events of the story show that human beings can do evil things without any remorse. They even do it in friendly and peaceful looking places. The fact that this lottery has been taking place for a long time, shows how human beings accept the evil in their lives.