The etymology (historical meaning) of the word ‘lottery’ signifies ‘part of a whole to be distributed’ and comes from the German word hluet. This word has various versions in other languages, such as lot in English, los in modern German, and lote in Spanish—all roots for the word ‘lottery.’ According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, a lottery is a “procedure for distributing something among a group of people by lot or by chance.”
According to a study by Gerald Willman called History of Lotteries, the first actual use of a game resembling a lottery system is traced back to fifteenth century cities in Italy. Here, a game called bianca carta was created. In this game, a number of colored and white tickets were distributed to players randomly. Players with colored tickets would be considered the winners; players with blank tickets, on the other hand, would be considered the losers. The name of the game, bianca carta, which means “white paper” in Italian, refers to the ludicrously high number of white (losing) tickets in comparison to the number of colored (winning) tickets.
In addition to being in fifteenth century Italy, lottery systems—as a form of entertainment or as a way to assign things like unpopular jobs—can be found in various different regions and time periods. For example, using a system of chance to determine land distribution can be found in the Old Testament. In Japanese and Chinese cultures, lottery systems were used to predict the future. Conversely, in Roman times, lottery systems were used to give away property and slaves, and were also used as oracles, interpreting meanings to questions, answers and predictions posed by the people. The lottery was even once considered to be used to help fund the American Revolution. In all of these instances, the lottery was merely considered a simple game or a simple solution to a problem.
Lotteries eventually became a form of gambling in the sixteenth century—or, at least, for particular people. First in Italy, citizens began to place bets on who would be elected for important political positions through a random chance lottery system. The bets were never official, and were only known by the citizens. It quickly became a way for citizen gamblers to have fun with their money—thus, this scenario of citizens betting on the outcome of an event became the true origin of the “lotto.”
While a few Italian citizens continued to play their own gambling games, lotteries, with a distinct purpose of earning money rather than just a form of entertainment, started appearing in other areas of Europe. There are two different revenue-based lotteries which could have possibly come first—one in the Kingdom of Belgium, and one in Modena, Italy, both of which were established towards the end of the fifteenth century. The first, which was located in Burgundy and Flanders, part of the Kingdom of Belgium, raised money which was used primarily for profit. This profit was used to either help fortify defenses of the nation or aid the poor. The second, which was located in Modena, Italy, followed a similar purpose.
Eventually, this type of lottery became public, allowing people to earn money for themselves—with the leftover money being used as revenue for the countries. Following this change of direct influence from earlier betting games, the lottery became highly popular, and word of this lottery system spread throughout Europe. In Liguria, Italy, an official public lottery was created. This would become the template for nearly all following lotteries. One example of this is the first national lottery, which was established in Italy in 1863—around the time the Italian nation was unified. This was a product of almost 400 years of lottery history.
In between this time, specifically in the early seventeenth century, lotteries were established in England. These lotteries, in contrast to the others before it, didn’t have such an easy time finding success—the population of England was mostly split on whether or not this form of gambling should be legal or not, and, as a result, they were banned for ten years (from 1699-1709). It would eventually be outlawed in England in 1826. Despite the fact that these problems persisted in other nations too, such as the United States, the lottery was still successful in those nations, primarily due to its popularity and revenue gain.
Lotteries continued to steadily become the most popular form of public gambling, even with an evenly decreasing chance of winning as the years continued. In recent years, the lottery has managed to stitch itself into the Worldwide Web, allowing for people to gamble from the comfort of their own home. The first “Interlotto” was offered to the public in 1995 under the name PLUS Lotto.
Today, successful lotteries can be found legally in several regions, including Africa, Europe, Japan, the United States, and the Middle East. The largest and most successful lottery out of these is in Australia—located in New South Wales, it sells over one million tickets a week and finances the Sydney Opera House. This lottery also offers cars, homes, and other prizes in addition to money.
With lotteries such as these being able to both make and give away so much money, it may seem questionable whether or not lottery systems—or gambling for that matter—will ever end. With its expansive history, lotteries have survived because of its significant impact on national revenue and the popularity it gained from its players. Now that lotteries are finding their way onto the internet, one can only imagine how much lotteries will evolve in the future.
