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The editors at Best Online Accounting Degrees decided to research the topic of:
History of the Lottery
Scholars disagree as to who started the lottery, but one thing's for sure...it's been around for a long time.
- 136: Number of sanctioned lotteries worldwide
- $120 billion: Estimated yearly revenues by those 136 lotteries.
- Source: http://www.worldcasinodirectory.com/lotto.htm
- It all began...
- Ancient Traditions: "Lots" of Luck
- Scholars disagree on who started lotteries, but there are references in the Bible. In Chapter 26, Numbers, Moses uses a lottery to award land west of the River Jordan.
- Num. 26:52-56: "But the land shall be divided by lot; they shall inherit according to the names of the tribes of their fathers.
- 70: number of times the casting of lots in mentioned in the Old Testament.
- 7: number of times lots mentioned in New Testament
- Source: http://www.naspl.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=content&menuid=11&pageid=1016
- 200 B.C.: In China, Cheung Leung, of the Han Dynasty, uses a Keno-like game (The Chinese Lottery) to finance the Great Wall of China
- Source: http://www.winningwithnumbers.com/keno/history/
- 29 B.C.-14 A.D. Caesar Augustus starts a lottery to finance the building of roads.
- 54-68 A.D.: Emperor Nero creates "fun" lotteries with thousands of tickets and prizes such as horses and slaves.
- Source: http://whatafy.com/when-did-the-lottery-appear.html, and Lottery: A Guide to American Lotteries (Arthur McAllister publishers), p. 9
- The Old World, and ... the new
- 1420: L'Ecluse, France, uses a lottery to raise money to rebuild city fortifications. Prizes were in the form of regular goods rather than cash.
- http://www.naspl.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=content&menuid=14&pageid=1020#LotterySales
- 1446: The widow of the Flemish painter Jan Van Eyck holds a raffle to dispose of his remaining paintings.
- Source: Lottery: A Guide to American Lotteries, p. 9
- 1465: Lotteries funds help build chapels, almshouses, canals and port facilities in Belgium.
- 1530: Florence, Italy holds a "Number Lottery" with cash prizes.
- 1539: King Francis I of France authorizes a lottery to replenish his treasury's funds.
- 1567: Queen Elizabeth I establishes the first English state lottery. Prizes include cash, plate, and tapestry, with 400,000 tickets offered for sale.
- Source: http://www.naspl.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=content&menuid=11&pageid=1016
- To Modern Times
- 1812: Spain's El Gordo, the "fat" one begins. Now, it's the world's biggest lottery, with draws every Dec. 22. This year, $3.3 billion was won by players.
- 1917: The Queensland State Lottery of Australia was the first lottery to start operations in the 20th century.
- 1930: Irish Sweepstakes were successfully launched in America and Canada because of the abolition of lotteries in these countries.
- 1950s: Italy's Enalotto launches. It morphed into SuperEnalotto.
- 1994: Euro Millions is born. Similar to Powerball and Mega Millions in the U.S., nine countries currently participate: Austria, Belgium, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
- Lotteries Built America
- The Jamestown Lottery, 1612 raised 29,000 pounds for the Virginia Company, the English sponsors of America's first settlement.
- 18th Century Colonial lotteries partially financed these colleges: Yale, Harvard, Princeton, William and Mary, Dartmouth, Columbia, North Carolina
- Source: http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/97/03/chapt2.html
- Early American Idols played too:
- George Washington sponsored a lottery and was a player, Alexander Hamilton wanted lotteries to help fund the new country, Benjamin Franklin printed lottery tickets. Thomas Jefferson, shortly before his death, tried to organize a lottery to get out of debt.
- Source: Fortune's Merry Wheel, by John Ezell (Harvard University Press)
- America Legalizes Lotteries (again) after 140 years
- The New Hampshire "Sweepstakes" is first sanctioned state lottery since the 1800s, when lotteries in the U.S. were banned in 1820, due to corruption scandals.
- Lottery Redux, the First Three:
- New Hampshire 1964
- New York 1967
- New Jersey 1970
- 10 states started lotteries in 1975.
- 43 + In North America, TODAY, every Canadian province, 43 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands offer government-sanctioned lotteries.
- In 2012:
- $78 billion: U.S. lottery sales
- $9.3 billion: sales in Canada
- http://www.naspl.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=content&menuid=14&pageid=1020#LotterySales
- Americans Play:
- 57 percent of American Adults bought a lottery ticket in the past year.
- $45,000-$75,000: 65 percent of people at this income level played in past 12 months.
- $25,000 or below: 53 percent of people at this income level play.
- $75,000 and above: people at this level play three times more than those with incomes under $25,000
- Source: http://www.gallup.com/poll/3769/Lotteries-Most-Popular-Form-Gambling-Americans.aspx.
- Two Top Multi-State Games:
- Powerball: life begins as in 1988 as Lotto America. Four years later, Powerball is born, Lotto America discontinued.
- Mega Millions -
- Sept. 6, 1996, launch date for The Big Game in six states, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan and Virginia. Six years later, is renamed Mega Millions.
- Top 5 U.S. Winning Jackpots, all time
- 1. $656.0 Million, Mega Millions, March 30, 2012
- 2. $587.5 Million Powerball, Nov. 28, 2012
- 3.$390.0 million, Mega Millions, March 6, 2007
- 4.$380.0 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 4, 2011
- 5. $365.0 million, Powerball, Feb. 18, 2006
- Source: www.powerball.com
- Odds are:
- 1 : 280,000 of being struck by lightning
- 1: 175,223,510 of winning the Powerball jackpot
- 1: 35 of winning any Powerball prize
- 1 : 280,000 of being struck by lightning
- 1: 2,230,000 of being killed by lightning
- Sources:
- http://www.funny2.com/odds.htm
- http://www.naspl.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=content&menuid=14&pageid=1020#LotteryOdds
