The origins of lotteries can be traced back centuries ago. In the Hebrew Bible, Moses was instructed to take a census of the people of Israel and then divide the land among them. Meanwhile, Roman emperors reportedly used lotteries to give away property and enslaved people.
Lotteries were brought to the U.S. by British colonists. The initial reaction was mainly negative, particularly among Christians, with most states banning them by the time of the Civil War. Only in the 1960s did lotteries come back-slowly at first. New Hampshire offered the first modern state lottery, wanting to find additional sources of revenue for education and also to cut into the popular, though illegal, games offered by the mob. Soon, others in the Northeast followed before lotteries moved west, eventually ending up in 45 states. These lottos were sold not just as a chance at a winning ticket but as a way to fund education, veteran's health programs, and so on without additional taxes. Since then, many in the public have come to believe schools receive lots of funding from the lottery and it helps to lower their taxes, though just 1% of school funding comes from the lottery in the states that have it.