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Lottery Ticket
Lottery Ticket
Lottery tickets have a long and storied history. The earliest known lottery tickets come from China as early as 205 BC. The earliest known lottery tickets from a public lottery are from the town of Sluis in the Netherlands circa 1434. Lotteries became very popular in the Netherlands and Belgium during the late middle ages. These lotteries were started to provide town fortifications and to help the poor. For the next three centuries lotteries were used to help the poor. In addition to implementing the first municipal and state sanctioned lotteries the Dutch were the first of sell lottery tickets for cash prizes. In fact the word lottery is derived from the Dutch word ‘loterij’ and the Dutch ‘Staatsloterij’ is the world’s oldest lottery and is still popular throughout the Netherlands.
In the English speaking world the first official lottery was implemented by Queen Elizabeth the 1st in 1569. One of the first settlements in America was financed by a lottery authorized by King James 1st to help establish the settlement at Jamestown. A large part of the American Revolution was funded through the sale of lottery tickets. At that time taxes were not considered an appropriate means of funding government projects. At the end of the war several states used lotteries to fund government functions and both Harvard and Princeton universities were funded by lotteries.
Lotteries fell out of favor in the US and were not revived until the 1960’s when New Hampshire started a state lottery and sold lottery tickets. Now almost every state in the US operates some sort of state lottery. In the 1990’s multi state lotteries such as Powerball and mega Millions were introduced. These mega jackpot lotteries were an immediate hit with lottery players throughout the US and have remained popular. Tickets are only $1 dollar and jackpots are commonly in the hundreds of millions.
Thanks to computer technology several lotteries now offer online lottery tickets. In Europe, Australia, and New Zealand online lottery ticket sales have been well received by players. Players cite convenience and ease of purchase as the chief factors contributing to the success of online lottery ticket sales. The UK lottery website also sells tickets for EuroMillions and offers players several funding options. In the US two states are currently exploring the possibility of online lottery ticket sales. Confusing and vague federal regulations are currently the only obstacle to providing US players with online lottery tickets. Lottery tickets have certainly come a long way since the 14th century!
Keep Track of Those Lottery Tickets!
A Maryland lottery player accidentally threw out a $250,000 Mega Millions ticket and retrieved it after a frantic 90 minute search. The 49 year old lottery player from Baltimore bought several lottery tickets for the March 9th drawing. The man checked his tickets but failed to realize he had a winning ticket. Shortly after he threw away the tickets a Maryland lottery employee told his brother that a winning ticket had been purchased at Barnabas Liquors in Temple Hills, the same store where the winning ticket was purchased. After the mans brother told him the news the man called the store to check the winning numbers. The man went to the store and after searching through trash for about an hour and a half the winning ticket was located. The lucky winner said he will use his winnings to pay off bills and he and his wife are planning a trip to Europe.
A similar near mishap almost happened on the other side of the world. A New Zealand woman carried around a $4 million dollar winning ticket in her handbag for about a month before she realized she had had a winning lottery ticket. The middle aged woman had purchased a New Zealand Powerball lottery ticket at a local supermarket and stuck the ticket in her handbag along with other old lottery tickets. The woman and her family were shocked at the big win and the woman said that perhaps it was time to upgrade her old battered handbag. She plans to upgrade the familys home and help other family members.
n almost identical situation occurred in Melbourne Australia. The woman had bought a superdraw ticket last September and thought she had misplaced the lottery ticket. The unnamed woman stated, I was just doing some spring cleaning and came across a ticket clipped to some other paperwork by a bulldog clip. I knew West Doncaster News and Lotto had sold a division-one winner but I thought I had lost my ticket. Then I found it filed away yesterday and thought Id call Tatts to see if Id won anything. I really had no idea that it was the actual winning ticket.
Imagine if these lucky winners remained in the dark about their big lottery wins. Most lottery experts say that the sale of online lottery tickets would prevent similar situations. Many countries now sell online lottery tickets and several lotteries send email alerts to winners which would prevent similar near mishaps like the ones above. It is time lotteries discarded outmoded technology and joined the 21st century.