The practice of casting and drawing lots to make a decision is ancient. It is mentioned in the Old Testament. For instance, when King David was planning war against the Philistines, he had the high priest cast the "Urim and Thummim," the stones that would tell him yes or no. This was supposed to have been God's way of telling them what to do.
In a sense, when we toss a coin and call heads or tails, we are casting lots. However, when we use the word "lottery" today, we don't usually think of making a decision. We think of a big jackpot just waiting to be won. So if we read the story in anticipation that someone is going to get a big prize in the end, we'll be very shocked when we find out the real result of this lottery.
See the link below for an interesting article about the history of casting lots.
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