Lotteries and its' various forms have been with us since the beginning
of time. There is evidence (Keno) of
lottery dating back to the Hans Dynasty from 205 and 187 BC. It also has t is
mentioned in the Bible, lottery being referred to as 'casting lots'. Even the
Pharaohs in Egypt had it going on as well!
The first recorded lottery was in 1530 in Florence, Italy. It was dubbed
Lotto de Firenze, and it quickly spread to other Italian cities. The game, as
well as the name, caught on. Italy's national lottery is still called Lotto, as
are those in the U.S. and many other countries. Following Lotto de Firenze, the
lottery found itself in England in 1569 and then in America in 1612.
There were a host
various formats and this also reflected the types of prizes on offer - as it
can be cold hard cash or goods.Lottery being the game of luck, not only buyer
but also the seller was at risk. Hence the prize money was fixed percentage of
receipts.
The most popular lottery formats was 50-50 draw. In this the organizers
promised that the prize will be 50% of the revenue. Thus, the prize was
guaranteed to be unique as each ticket sold had a unique number. But to make it
more popular and competitive many lottery organizers announced multiple winners
so that more and more people can play and enjoy it.
Seeing the popularity and rage it enjoyed, many countries legalized the
activities related to lotteries. Nowadays, with the worldwide web, people from
different parts of the world now have the opportunities to play lottery online.
Now you can find an array of websites offering online lotteries. All you have
to do is pay online and you get to pick a card or number of your choice. Then
if your number gets chosen you are the lucky winner of a prize money that can
range anywhere from $100,000 to $10 million.