By the end of 2020，China has issued and sold about 4.46 trillion yuan of lottery tickets and raised about 1.27 trillion yuan of public welfare funds. In the 34 years since the issuance and sales of lottery tickets，the management system，operation mechanism and fund use management of lottery tickets in China have been constantly explored，which has made a positive contribution to the development of social welfare and social public welfare undertakings in China. With the continuous expansion of the scale of lottery issuance and sales，the problems of issuance management，market supervision and departmental interest disputes occur frequently，placing the lottery at the outlet of public opinion. Reviewing history，combining reality and looking forward to the future，what is the essential attribute of lottery？Why does lottery exist？What kind of functions should be undertaken in China’s economic and social development in order to make the lottery run healthily on its own regular track and serve social and economic development. This paper holds that the functions of lottery include developing social undertakings，economic functions，entertainment functions and maintaining social stability；Probability，public welfare，country，commodity and entertainment are the five attributes of lottery. The function and attribute of lottery determine the need to optimize the existing management system and operation mechanism，ensure the realization of the function of lottery，improve the national institutional arrangements for mutual assistance，and effectively promote the development of public welfare and philanthropy in China.