The first recorded signs of a lottery are keno slips from the
Chinese Han Dynasty between 205 and 187 BC. These lotteries are believed to
have helped to finance major government projects like the Great Wall of China.
From the Chinese "The Book of Songs" (2nd millennium BC.) comes a
reference to a game of chance as "the drawing of wood", which in
context appears to describe the drawing of lots. From the Celtic era, the
Cornish words "teulel pren" translates into "to throw wood"
and means "to draw lots". The Iliad of Homer refers to lots being
placed into Agamemnon's helmet to determine who would fight Hector. The first
known European lotteries were held during the Roman Empire, mainly as an
amusement at dinner parties.
Each guest would
receive a ticket, and prizes would often consist of fancy items such as
dinnerware. Every ticket holder would be assured of winning something. This
type of lottery, however, was no more than the distribution of gifts by wealthy
noblemen during the Saturnalian revelries. The earliest records of a lottery
offering tickets for sale are the lottery organized by Roman Emperor Augustus
Caesar. The funds were for repairs in the City of Rome, and the winners were
given prizes in the form of articles of unequal value. The first recorded
lotteries to offer tickets for sale with prizes in the form of money were held
in the Low Countries in the 15th century. Various towns held public lotteries
to raise money for town fortifications, and to help the poor. The town records
of Ghent, Utrecht, and Bruges indicate that lotteries may be even older.
A record dated May 9, 1445 at L'Ecluse refers to raising
funds to build walls and town fortifications, with a lottery of 4,304 tickets
and total prize money of 1737 florins. In the 17th century it was quite usual
in the Netherlands to organize lotteries to collect money for the poor or in
order to raise funds for all kinds of public usages. The lotteries proved very
popular and were hailed as a painless form of taxation. The Dutch state-owned Staatsloterij
is the oldest running lottery. The first recorded Italian lottery was held on
January 9, 1449 in Milan organized by the Golden Ambrosian Republic to finance
the war against the Republic of Venice. However, was in Genoa that Lotto became
very popular. People used to bet on the name of Great Council members, who were
drew by chance, five out of ninety candidates every six months . This kind of
gambling was called Lotto or Semenaiu. When people wanted to bet more
frequently than twice a year, they began to substitute the candidates names
with numbers and modern lotto was born.
