Historians tend to think that a semblance of modern lottery games originated around the same time in three ancient countries: Greece, Rome and China.
Ancient Greek myths refer to an act in which warriors drew pebbles from a golden helmet in the hope of winning a prestigious duel with Zeus.
Organising a lottery similar to today’s keno was celebrated during the Han dynasty in 100 BC. The proceeds went to the state, right up to the construction of the Great Wall of China.
According to historical records, the late Roman Republic enjoyed various forms of lotteries, including public lotteries first conducted by Julius Caesar. The proceeds were used to repair Rome’s buildings, roads and bridges.
Distribution of the lottery
Lotteries began to spread across Europe in the 15th century, as can be seen on nolimitway.com. Among the first states mentioned is Belgium, which at first used the proceeds from lotteries for charity and then for building various objects.
Queen Elizabeth pioneered the English prize lotteries, which became a regular fixture of the state treasury and enabled a lottery to be built.
In the US, lotteries came with the British colonies and provided funding for the most important military, social and cultural programs. Over time, the popularity of lotteries led to fraud, which resulted in a legal ban on the printing and sale of lottery tickets at the end of the 18th century.
The lottery’s march across Russia
The Russian Empire came into contact with the raffle during the reign of Peter the Great. Tickets were placed in a sack from which children would take them out and ordinary people could replenish their everyday lives with useful items.
Catherine II raffled off valuable items seized from debtors. The first documentary evidence of it dates back to 1764. Count Potemkin, who liked to entertain the noble ladies by holding raffle prizes for them at his receptions, did not stand aside either.
The tsarina was motivated by the impressive profits of private organizers to monopolize the raffles in order to concentrate the financial flows for state purposes. However, miscalculations led to unfavourable consequences for the treasury, and Catherine took no further risks.
A poor harvest in 1892 led the government to try to help the people by holding a lottery. The results exceeded all expectations – more than 9 million rubles were raised. It also came in handy for raising money for the wounded and injured during the First World War.