(1) Players buy (or are given) chances and prizes are distributed by casting lots
(2) Something that is regarded as a chance event
"The election was just a lottery to them"
WiktionaryText
Etymology
from lotteria, from the same root as hlot (cognate with lot)
Noun
A scheme for the distribution of prizes by lot or chance, especially a gaming scheme in which one or more tickets bearing particular numbers draw prizes, the other tickets are blanks.
