The Lottery
A lottery is a form of gambling which is present in USA and in Europe.
It is guided by the government and that is why some countries don't have such a form of gambling because the government outlawed it, while in other countries it became a national lottery.
Before the World War II this form of gambling was illegal, but in 1960 casinos and lotteries began to appear in USA and Europe and they were used as a means to raise revenue in addition to taxes.
Sometimes the lottery is described as a regressive tax.
It is known as a "tax on stupidity" because of the minimal chances to win the big prize.
Even if it is used to describe this form of gambling, the word "tax" is not strictly correct because these descriptions are used to make people understand that these games are government-sanctioned operations and they attract only people who do not understand that buying a lottery ticket is a simple economic decision.
Lotteries come in many formats.
Some lotteries can offer a prize which is based on money and some of them on goods.
Lottery tickets are usually checked on the computer using mark sense-technology, which will check in less than one second if a combination of numbers was chosen by anyone.
Don't think that the lottery was invented in 1960, after the World War II.
Romans were first to play this game - this was a way to relax and amuse at dinner parties.
The truth is that it was different from nowadays lottery, because, even if guests were receiving some tickets (the prize often consisted of fancy items), the ones who were unlucky received prizes, too.
So, this type of lottery was a kind of distribution of gifts by wealthy noblemen.
The earliest real lottery was founded in 1434 in the Dutch Town of Sluis.
This was the first lottery which solely gave cash prizes, prizes that were based on the odds of wining - more than a quarter of tickets were lucky! During a period of 6 years (1443-1449) many tickets were sold in various towns in Flanders.
This is the way that lotteries started their activity.
Nowadays, there are lotteries in 8 countries from America, 38 states in Europe, 11 in Asia, 2 in Africa (Kenya and South Africa) and 2 in Australia.
In all these countries lottery is legalized by the government and in some of them there is the possibility to play on-line.
In on-line lotteries, the user has to select their numbers, wait for a few seconds for them to be registered and then all that he needs to do is to hope that those numbers are lucky.
It is guided by the government and that is why some countries don't have such a form of gambling because the government outlawed it, while in other countries it became a national lottery.
Before the World War II this form of gambling was illegal, but in 1960 casinos and lotteries began to appear in USA and Europe and they were used as a means to raise revenue in addition to taxes.
Sometimes the lottery is described as a regressive tax.
It is known as a "tax on stupidity" because of the minimal chances to win the big prize.
Even if it is used to describe this form of gambling, the word "tax" is not strictly correct because these descriptions are used to make people understand that these games are government-sanctioned operations and they attract only people who do not understand that buying a lottery ticket is a simple economic decision.
Lotteries come in many formats.
Some lotteries can offer a prize which is based on money and some of them on goods.
Lottery tickets are usually checked on the computer using mark sense-technology, which will check in less than one second if a combination of numbers was chosen by anyone.
Don't think that the lottery was invented in 1960, after the World War II.
Romans were first to play this game - this was a way to relax and amuse at dinner parties.
The truth is that it was different from nowadays lottery, because, even if guests were receiving some tickets (the prize often consisted of fancy items), the ones who were unlucky received prizes, too.
So, this type of lottery was a kind of distribution of gifts by wealthy noblemen.
The earliest real lottery was founded in 1434 in the Dutch Town of Sluis.
This was the first lottery which solely gave cash prizes, prizes that were based on the odds of wining - more than a quarter of tickets were lucky! During a period of 6 years (1443-1449) many tickets were sold in various towns in Flanders.
This is the way that lotteries started their activity.
Nowadays, there are lotteries in 8 countries from America, 38 states in Europe, 11 in Asia, 2 in Africa (Kenya and South Africa) and 2 in Australia.
In all these countries lottery is legalized by the government and in some of them there is the possibility to play on-line.
In on-line lotteries, the user has to select their numbers, wait for a few seconds for them to be registered and then all that he needs to do is to hope that those numbers are lucky.
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