uk lottery draw

Author: Mark Sterling

History of Winning the Lottery

Winning the lottery has a long and ancient history. The word “lottery” comes from the Italian “lotto”, meaning fate or destiny. Many lottery games in the English speaking world are referred to as lotto games. How to win the lottery has been a world wide question for hundreds, even thousands of years.

Ancient Lotteries

Lotteries have an ancient, venerable and somewhat checkered history. There are many biblical references to the drawing of lots to award ownership and in the Book of Numbers, Chapter 26, Moses uses a lottery to award land west of the River Jordan. In the New Testament, Roman soldiers drew lots to decide who would get Jesus’ cloak after the crucifixion.

In 100 BC, the Hun Dynasty in China created the lottery game known as Keno. Most of the funds raised were used to finance the construction of the Great Wall, intended as a perimeter defense. Winning the lottery was less important than defending the country.

Origin of Modern Lotteries

The first recorded European lottery was held in 1446 by the widow of the Flemish painter Jan Van Eyck to dispose of his remaining paintings. Winning this lottery would have given you a prize worth mega millions today!

Encyclopedia Britannica states that the lottery as we know it dates back to 15th century France where it was used by individual towns to raise money for strengthening the town’s defenses (Europe has a strong tradition of citizens considering themselves as belonging to a city rather than a state or even a country, for example, a citizen would think of him or herself as a Roman, rather than an Italian.) King Francis I of France allowed lotteries to operate from 1520, and the first municipal lottery to offer money as a prize was La Lotto de Firenze, run by the city of Florence in 1530. Other cities in Italy soon followed suit.

In 1567, Queen Elizabeth I established the first English state lottery, with prizes including cash, gold and silver plate, and tapestries. 400,000 tickets were offered for sale. For a while, how to win the lottery was a question on all the citizens’ lips.

In 1612, King James I of England created a lottery in London by royal decree. The proceeds helped to finance the first British colony in America at Jamestown, Virginia. Anglican churches held two of the three winning tickets in the first draw!

Winning the Lottery: The First National Lottery

In the middle 18th century, a notable event occurred in France. Because of the potential for fixing the results in privately operated lotteries, Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (1725 – 1798) persuaded Louis XV of France to found the first state-owned monopoly lottery, the Loterie Royale of the Military School, which became the forerunner of the Loterie Nationale. All other lotteries in France were outlawed. The lottery was a Keno style game, where players could select 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 numbers between 1 and 90. (Incidentally, Casanova owned an interest in the new lottery and became wealthy as a result, but sold his interest shortly afterwards and lost the proceeds through unwise investments; sounds just like some modern lottery winners, doesn’t it?)

Origin of American Lotteries

In the 18th century, lotteries were well under way in America, primarily to fund some venture or as a way out of debt. The first began in Massachusetts in 1744 because of military debts. The first national lottery was started by the Continental Congress in 1776 to raise funds for the American Revolution. The Founding Fathers were concerned not so much with how to win the lottery but with how to raise funds using lotteries. Many of the Founding Fathers played and sponsored lotteries:

• Benjamin Franklin used lotteries to finance cannons for the Revolutionary War.
• George Washington financed construction of the Mountain Road, which opened expansion West of Virginia, by operating a lottery.
• Thomas Jefferson, who was $80,000 in debt at the end of his life, used a lottery to dispose of most of his property. Winning this lottery would have given you a priceless piece of American heritage!
• John Hancock operated a lottery to finance the rebuild of historic Faneuil Hall in Boston.

In addition, public lotteries helped build several American universities, including Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Princeton, Brown and Dartmouth. Winning these lotteries was a major contribution to the future of American education.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/online-gambling-articles/winning-the-lottery-its-all-in-the-past-4268745.html
About the Author

Mark Sterling is a successful systems lottery player. You can download the FREE Winning Lotto ebook here. Find out the real odds of winning any lottery in the world and how to make them work for you. Get other free gifts too.

Go to the NetLotto web site here.

Technorati Tags: best lotteries to play, history of lotteries, Lottery history, lottery ticket, lottery tickets, lottery winner, Lottery Winners, play lotteries online, play lottery online

Originally posted to Ezine Articles

The Evolution of The Lottery

By W Tsang

Lottery is not merely a form of gambling on which one lays his bet and money. Rather, it is also one way by which a person gets to help other people and his society. These days, most lottery games are held so that part of the ticket sales may be allotted to fund a few beneficial projects for the needy and for public infrastructures.

This was how the history of lottery began. Back in time at 100 BC, the first Keno game was given birth in China during the Hun Dynasty and the funds raised from the lottery games were allocated for financing the construction of the Great Wall of China and the country’s other defense needs. Other ancient civilizations also had different forms of lotteries such as in Rome. The Roman Empire had operated the very foremost lottery in Europe. Somehow it began as an entertainment means in parties and gatherings of the noble society members but during Augustus Caesar’s reign, lottery tickets were sold as a means of raising fund for repairing the city. Objects of distinct value were given as prizes instead of cash which we are now used to.

Many year later in 1434, the first public lottery was recorded to have occurred in the town of Sluis in Netherlands. The first ever lotteries which gave away cash prizes happened a decade after, in about 1444 in several Flanders towns; now are France, Holland and Belgium. It is said that these monetary prized lotteries have aided the poor people and town fortifications. In addition, these lotteries were regarded by the Dutch as a taxation form which is less painful to pay. In 1465 lotteries have been held to construct almshouses, chapels, port facilities and canals in Belgium.

In the Western world, lotteries were also played. In the late 16th century, Queen Elizabeth I had instituted the first of English state lotteries. Four thousand tickets were recorded to have been sold and the prizes given away included tapestry, plate and cash. What followed after this was when the English government had sold rights to brokers for selling lottery tickets. Then the brokers hired agents for selling the tickets publicly. Since then, lotteries held by the government had been operated in this manner until 1826 when the Parliament affirmed the final lottery.

Soon after, many forms of lotteries were invented and played by a lot of people and citizens in every country worldwide. What used to be a noble intention to raise finances for beneficial programs were invaded by corruption and other negative issues. Some private lotteries did not give the prize promoted during ticket sales, at worst no prize at all were ever received by the winner. In some areas like in Canada and United States, there came a time when lottery games were banned and prohibited. Laws and regulations, however, were decreed and implemented to govern the playing and drawing of lotteries.

These days, some lotteries are still following the original purpose of lotteries, which is to allot a certain portion of ticket sales especially for the needy and public facilities. Modernization has even improved the process of playing lotteries as there are online playing sites where one can conveniently place and pay for a bet.

For more information about lotteries and other betting games, please visit Lottoresults.com.au — an Australian information portal on lotteries and lotto results of lottery games.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=W_Tsang
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Evolution-of-The-Lottery&id=4119176

Buy your (modern) lottery tickets for over 55 lotteries around the world from the Lotter.

Technorati Tags: history of lotteries, loterry, lottery, Lottery Good Causes, lottery information, lottery ticket, lottery tickets, lottery website, lottory, lucky lottery, play lottery online, selling lottery, the lotter