The
numbers game, also known as the
numbers racket, the
policy racket, the
Italian lottery, the
policy game, or the
daily number is a form of
illegal gambling or illegal
lotteryplayed mostly in poor and
working class neighborhoods in the
United States, wherein a bettor attempts to pick three digits to match those that will be randomly drawn the following day. In recent years, the "number" would be the last three digits of "the handle", the amount
race track bettors placed on
race day at a major
racetrack, published in racing journals and major newspapers in New York. A
gambler places a bet with a
bookie at a
tavern,
bar,
barber shop,
social club, or any other semi-private place that acts as an illegal betting parlor.
