Winning the Lottery: It's All in the Past

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History of Winning the Lottery

Winning the lottery includes a long and ancient history. The term "lottery" comes from the Italian "lotto", meaning fate or destiny. Many lottery games in the English speaking world are called lotto games. How exactly to win the lottery is a huge world wide question for hundreds, even a large number of years.

Ancient Lotteries

Lotteries have a historical, venerable and somewhat checkered history. There are KBC Winner List numerous biblical references to the drawing of lots to award ownership and in the Book of Numbers, Chapter 26, Moses works on the lottery to award land west of the River Jordan. In the New Testament, Roman soldiers drew lots to choose who'd get Jesus'cloak after the crucifixion.

In 100 BC, the Hun Dynasty in China created the lottery game referred to as Keno. All 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 get rid 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 all know it dates back again to 15th century France where it was employed by individual towns to boost money for strengthening the town's defenses (Europe includes a strong tradition of citizens considering themselves as belonging to a town rather than a state or possibly a country, for example, a citizen would think of him or herself as a Roman, as opposed to an Italian.) King Francis I of France allowed lotteries to use from 1520, and the very 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 very first English state lottery, with prizes including cash, gold and silver plate, and tapestries. 400,000 tickets were offered for sale. For a time, how to win the lottery was a concern on most of the citizens'lips.

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

Winning the Lottery: The First National Lottery

In the middle 18th century, a notable event occurred in France. Due to the potential for fixing the outcome in privately operated lotteries, Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (1725 - 1798) persuaded Louis XV of France to found the very first state-owned monopoly lottery, the Loterie Royale of the Military School, which became the forerunner of the Loterie Nationale. 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 a pastime in the new lottery and became wealthy consequently, but sold his interest shortly afterwards and lost the proceeds through unwise investments; sounds the same as 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 means 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 boost funds for the American Revolution. The Founding Fathers were concerned not so much with how to win the lottery but with how to boost funds using lotteries. Lots of the Founding Fathers played and sponsored lotteries: