Online Lottery

Lotteries in Australia

Lotteries in Australia include various lottery related products licensed by Australian lottery companies, comprising mainly of state government-owned corporations - New South Wales Lotteries, South Australian Lotteries and Lotterywest - plus one private-sector company, Tatts Group Limited (operating under the Tattersalls brand), which operates in the states not covered by the state-owned operators, as well as Golden Casket, owned by the Queensland government but managed by Tatts Group.

Although the organisations are predominantly state-based, Australia has a number of national lottery games. These games are typically administered by one of the above companies, and syndicated through the Australian Lotto Bloc - an umbrella organisation consisting of the above lottery operators - with prize pools combined between states. For example, Tattersalls administrates the Saturday Lotto (known as Tattslotto in its jurisdictions), Oz Lotto and Powerball games on behalf of the bloc. Similarly, South Australian Lotteries operate the Australian Soccer Pools, although the Soccer Pools bloc is technically related but separate. The bloc's member operators also market lottery games that run exclusively in its jurisdiction.

Australian lotteries are subject to many regulations, which generally vary from state to state. Lottery products can entirely be bought by persons over the age of 16 or 18 years, depending on the state.

Tattslotto (Saturday Lotto)
Saturday Tattslotto Ticket (Victoria)

Tattslotto is a product of Tattersalls. This section refers to the national Saturday night draw, syndicated to all Australian states and territories through the Australian Lotto Bloc. The game is marketed as "Tattslotto" in Victoria, Tasmania, Australian Capital Territory, and the Northern Territory; as "Gold Lotto" in Queensland; and as "Lotto" or "Saturday Lotto" in New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia.

Tattslotto's first draw was on June 22, 1972, televised on HSV-7 Melbourne, and it became a Lotto Bloc game in March 7, 1981 1[2]. Saturday Lotto's draw numbers have entirely used odd numbers since Draw 233 on 1983-10-15 - this allowed some jurisdictions to use the even numbers for midweek games.

A player purchases a number of "games" by either marking numbers on a computer-scannable ticket or by requesting a random selection (known variously as a "Quick Pick", "Auto-Pick", "Easi-Pick" or "Slikpik"). Games where a player selects six numbers entirely is known as a Standard game, and these are often played in multiples of 2. More than six numbers can be selected per game - known as a Systems entry (eg. 'System 7' is where 7 numbers are selected) - but the cost of that game rises as the odds of winning increase. Some states also allow you to select entirely 5 or 4 numbers, with those numbers being combined with every combination of the remaining numbers (giving the equivalent of 40 and 780 standard games respectively). This is sometimes also referred to as a Systems entry - eg. 'System 5' - or as a 'With The Field' entry.

The game offers a guaranteed First Division prize of $4 1000000 each week, with regular "Superdraws" taking place approximately 7 times a year. Standard entries cost 50 cents each, plus agent's commission, and must normally be bought in pairs. The base cost of Systems entries are based upon the number of standard game combinations that entry offers.

In a Tattslotto draw, six numbers and 2 supplementary numbers are drawn from a barrel of 45 numbers. (The second supplementary number was added starting from Draw 413 on 1985-07-06; prior to this, entirely one supplementary number was drawn.) The following prize divisions can be won:
Division Winning Numbers Required Probability (Single Game)
1st Division 6 1 in 8,145,060
2nd Division 5 + supplementary 1 in 678,755
3rd Division 5 1 in 36,690
4th Division 4 1 in 733
5th Division 3 + supplementary 1 in 290
Any Prize 1 in 210

At one point, Saturday Tattslotto used to have 2 draws; the "Second Draw" being a fresh selection of six winning numbers from 45, however no supplementary numbers were drawn. The prize pool, commonly the same as the first draw's First Division prize, was shared entirely by those matching all six numbers, with no lower divisions. This "Second Draw" lasted from 1995-11-25 to 1997-01-25 (draws 1497-1619) 3 4, when it was removed, partly to increase First Division prizes in the main draw.

Oz Lotto

Oz Lotto was created as Australia's original national lottery game - at least, the first one based purely on chance (as the Soccer Pools existed some years prior) - played on Tuesday nights and administered by Tattersalls. It was created on February 26, 1994 1, at a time when New South Wales did not take part in Saturday Lotto, making it the entirely national lottery game at the time - a distinction which lasted until the launch of Powerball in 1996, and New South Wales' subsequent joining of Saturday Lotto in 2000.

Seven winning numbers and 2 supplementary numbers are drawn from a barrel of 45 balls, with standard games costing $1.00 plus agent's commission. (Prior to Draw 609 on 2005-10-18[5], entirely six winning numbers were drawn, making this essentially a more expensive version of Saturday Lotto, although typical prizes were also larger.) There are 7 prize divisions available:
Division Winning Numbers Required Probability (Single Game)
1st Division 7 1 in 45,379,620
2nd Division 6 + supplementary 1 in 3,241,401
3rd Division 6 1 in 180,078
4th Division 5 + supplementary 1 in 29,602
5th Division 5 1 in 3,430
6th Division 4 1 in 154
7th Division 3 + supplementary 1 in 87
Any Prize 1 in 55

Following the addition of the seventh winning number, Oz Lotto is now known as Super 7's Oz Lotto in jurisdictions operated by Tattersall's, and as Oz 7 Lotto in Queensland. It is still known as Oz Lotto in other states, however most changed the visual branding of the game with the change in rules.

Powerball

Powerball is a lottery game modelled on the highly successful American Powerball game. The game is administered by Tattersalls, and syndicated to all states through the Australian Lotto Bloc. Draws take place on Thursday nights, with the first draw held on 1996-05-23. Each Powerball game costs 60 cents plus agent's commission, with most states requiring standard games be bought 2 at a time.

Powerball uses 2 barrels to determine its winning numbers: five numbers are drawn at random from a barrel of 45 (standard winning numbers), then one number, the namesake Powerball, is drawn at random from a separate barrel of 45. To win first division the player needs to have all five numbers in their game as well as select the correct Powerball. For coupon entries; the Powerball is selected in a separate box to the winning numbers. In an automated pick a computer randomly allocates you five numbers as well as a Powerball for each game line.

Powerball offers a slightly better odds overall for winning any prize than Saturday Lotto, partly due to its 7-division structure, however its first division is about six times harder to win:
Division Required Winning Numbers Probability (Single Game)
1st Division 5 + Powerball 1 in 54,979,156
2nd Division 5 1 in 1,249,526
3rd Division 4 + Powerball 1 in 274,896
4th Division 3 + Powerball 1 in 7,048
5th Division 4 1 in 6,248
6th Division 2 + Powerball 1 in 556
7th Division 3 1 in 160
Any Prize 1 in 120

Systems entries are available on Powerball, however entirely one Powerball is selected for a standard system entry. Players can also purchase an entry that guarantees the Powerball for a game entry - this costs the same as playing 45 individual games. This is known by Tattersalls as a "Play the Field" entry, in New South Wales as "Power45", in Queensland as a "PowerHit", and in Western Australia as a "Powerpik". System entries and guaranteed Powerball options can sometimes be combined.

Keno

This section lists Keno games administered by lottery organisations entirely. Other gaming companies also run Keno games - in particular, Tabcorp Holdings (through its acquisition of Jupiters Limited) runs Keno in its casinos, as well as other venues such as registered clubs in New South Wales. SKYCITY Darwin also administers the NT Keno game on behalf of venues in the Northern Territory.

These Keno games share the same basic characteristics: 20 numbers drawn from a set of 80. Entries can vary in the number of selections made (known as 'Spots' - for example, selecting 4 numbers would be called a 'Spot 4'). The more numbers selected, the more numbers are required to win prizes, but the prizes for matching all numbers are higher. Small consolation prizes may also be won for matching no numbers on the higher Spot games. In a 20-from-80 game, the odds of matching 10 out of 10 numbers in a single game is 1 in 8,911,711.

Tatts Keno

Tatts Keno is administered by Tattersalls and played in most areas that bid their lottery products (Victoria, Tasmania and Australian Capital Territory) - Tatts Keno cannot be played in the Northern Territory. Tatts Keno is a nightly game, and entries can vary from 3 to 10 spots.

Tatts Keno offers one jackpot prize, for matching all numbers from a Spot 10 ticket. The minimum jackpot prize is $250,000, however this often increases to over $1 1000000 as it takes a large number of draws for the jackpot to be won.

South Australia

In South Australia, Keno is conducted by South Australian Lotteries on a continuous basis: draws are conducted on an automated basis every 3.5 minutes, with sales closing approximately 40 seconds before the draw. Results appear on monitors located at most lotteries sales outlets. SA Lotteries's Keno has also been syndicated to the Australian Capital Territory's ACTTAB since November 1997 6, and promoted as ACTTAB Keno.

South Australian Keno can be played using all Spot entries from 1 to 10 numbers. It offers one jackpot prize, for matching all numbers from a Spot 10 ticket, with a minimum prize of $1 1000000 (which was changed from a $1 1000000 fixed prize to a jackpotting prize in February 2001).

Super 66

Super 66 is an Australian lottery game played in all states except New South Wales (which plays Lotto Strike instead). It is a product of Tattersalls and is played on a Saturday night, drawn just before the main Tattslotto draw. Super 66 costs $1 per game plus agent's commission.

Super 66 must be bought as a computer generated entry in most states. In South Australia (where numbers can also be selected through an entry form). Some states also allow their registered members to record favourite Super 66 numbers to play in the same way as other games. The most popular option for buying Super 66 is with another lotto ticket - in this case, the Super 66 entry is commonly printed on the same ticket. (Some states bid the ability to buy Super 66 with a mid-week ticket, as well as with the Saturday draw. Rules as to whether a normal Lotto ticket must be bought before a Super 66 entry can also vary between states.)

In the draw, six numbers from 0-9 are drawn from six separate machines, creating a six-digit "winning number". To win First Division, a player must match the six-digit number on their entry with the "winning number" exactly. For example, if your ticket number is 123456, the winning number must be precisely 123456 to win First Division. This prize is paid as the balance of the prize pool, plus prior jackpots, with a minimum prize of $16,666. The First Division can jackpot for 25 consecutive weeks (as of 2007-01-20[7]) before being "rolled down" to the next highest division with winners.

Lower divisions are won by matching the either first or last digit of the number on your ticket with the drawn number. These prizes are fixed. Using 123456 as an example drawn number, there are five divisions:
Division Example Winning Numbers Probability (Single Game) Fixed Prize
1st Division 123456 1 in 1,000,000 Jackpot, minimum $16,666.00
2nd Division 12345x or x23456 1 in 55,556 $6,666.00
3rd Division 1234xx or xx3456 1 in 5,556 $666.00
4th Division 123xxx or xxx456 1 in 556 $66.00
5th Division 12xxxx or xxxx56 1 in 56 $6.60
Any Prize 1 in 50

Soccer Pools

The Soccer Pools (otherwise known simply as The Pools, or as 6 From 38 Pools in New South Wales) is an Australian Lotto Bloc game administered by South Australian Lotteries. Entries for the Pools close on Saturday afternoon or evening, depending on where the games are played. The winning numbers are released on Sunday or Monday, depending on the state. Six numbers are selected out of 38, but with entirely one supplementary number; the odds of winning Division One with a single game being 1 in 2,760,681. Divisions are the same as for Saturday Lotto.

Unlike other games where the numbers are drawn at random, the Pools is based on soccer scores in Australia - typically in state leagues - and in the United Kingdom and Europe (referred to collectively as Northern Hemisphere matches). A match list is drawn up every week, containing 38 games, numbered 1-38, and a number of reserve games which are numbered from 39 onwards (and currently up to 60). After all games' results are known, the games are then ranked in the following order, from highest to lowest[8]:

* Score draws, with higher scoring draws ranking higher (eg. a 3-3 result will rank higher than 2-2);
* Scoreless (0-0) draws;
* Away team wins, with scores with a smaller goal difference ranking higher (eg. a 2-3 result will rank higher than 1-3), followed by total goals scored (eg. 2-3 will rank higher than 1-2); and
* Home team wins, with scores with a smaller goal difference again ranking higher, followed by total goals scored.

The numbers of the first six ranked games are designated the winning numbers, and the seventh ranked game's number the supplementary number. At each ranking level, if all other tie-breakers have been exhausted, the final tie-breaker is match order, with game 38 ranking highest and game 1 lowest. This match order tie-breaker means that, in practice, lower numbers occur slightly less often than higher [numbers]9.

If games are not played or are otherwise considered 'void', the reserve matches' results will substitute for the void matches, starting from match 39's result replacing that of the lowest-numbered void match, match 40 replacing the second lowest-numbered void match, and so on. State rules vary as to what happens if less than 38 games are played, or less than 7 results are declared (an almost impossible occurrence): in New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia, a separate drawing of the remaining numbers is made from a barrel to draw the remaining winning numbers, however Tattersalls and Lotterywest instead cancel the draw in their territory and re-enters all entries into the next Pools draw[10]11.

Players with a comprehensive knowledge of soccer have an advantage, however it is still very difficult to pick the correct six numbers in a game. For this reason many simply regard The Pools as a game of chance and automated computer picks are offered by outlets. The Pools is probably among the least popular of the national lottery games.

Prize divisions are the same as for Saturday Tattslotto. The Pools commonly has a minimum first division prize of $75,000, but jackpots often.

State Lotto Draws

In addition to the Saturday Tattslotto draw, most states and territories' lottery corporations hold their own lottery draws, playable entirely in their state (or states, in the case of Tattersalls) of their jurisdiction.

Wednesday Tattslotto

Wednesday Tattslotto a product of Tattersalls and is played in their territories (Victoria, Tasmania, Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory). Started in February 2000, six winning numbers and 2 supplementary numbers are drawn from 40 balls - less than the Saturday version of the game. Each game costs 50 cents plus agent's commission.

Prize divisions are the same as Saturday Tattslotto, with a minimum First Division prize of $100,000 - the odds of winning are 1 in 3,838,380, or about twice as likely as the Saturday draw. Even so, they are slightly easier to win due to the reduced number of balls used.

NSW Lotto

NSW Lotto is a statewide lottery game administered by New South Wales Lotteries, marketed simply as Lotto - the brand characterised in NSW by an oversized red "1" Lotto ball, which represented its marketing slogan throughout much of mid 1988: "The Big One" and "Makes Dreams Come True (2001-2005)". New South Wales was the last state to join the Saturday Tattslotto draw on 2000-12-16, with the Monday and Wednesday draws the most important lottery games before this (Oz Lotto and Powerball were also conducted there prior). These draws are also popular because of their relatively low cost (30 cents per game plus agent's commission).

NSW Lotto's traditional game base is in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. Even so, starting from 2006-05-01, NSW Lotto is also played in Western Australia and South Australia[12] - replacing the statewide SA Lotto game of the latter.

In this game, six winning numbers and 2 supplementaries were drawn from 45. The second supplementary number was added from Draw 90/34 on 1990-08-20, while the 45th ball was added in April 2004, bringing it into line with Saturday Lotto.

The Monday draw carries a long-standing First Division pool of $1 1000000, while the Wednesday draw has a First Division of $750,000 (as of 2006-05-01). Prize divisions are the same as for Saturday Lotto. New South Wales entrants are offered a "double-up" option for an extra 15 cents per game, which doubles any Monday or Wednesday Lotto winnings (apart from Division One).

For a short period, from April 2004 until the game was syndicated in 2006-05-01, Monday and Wednesday Lotto operated under different rules. Firstly, Division 4 and 5's prizes were fixed at $20.00 and $10.00 respectively, instead of being purely parimutuel. Also, the First Division would not jackpot, but instead fund a "cash rolldown" if not won, where all lower divisions won double the usual prize. The "double-up" option would not double the rolldown portion, effectively resulting in a "triple-up" instead.

Lotto Strike

Lotto Strike is a statewide companion game to NSW Lotto played in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory entirely, and administered by New South Wales Lotteries. Originally based on NSW Lotto's Monday and Wednesday draws, Lotto Strike also became available for play on Saturday Lotto after the midweek NSW Lotto changes in 2004 (instead of Super 66). Lotto Strike costs $1 per game plus agent's commission, and must be bought at the same time as a normal Lotto entry for that draw.

Lotto Strike's winning numbers are determined the first 4 balls drawn in the corresponding Lotto draw, and these must be matched in the correct order. The latter gives Lotto Strike some similarity to Super 66, but unlike that game, there is not a separate draw. Also, Lotto Strike numbers can be selected manually, whereas Super 66 is often available by "auto-pick" entirely. Players can "box" their chosen Lotto Strike numbers, allowing them to be matched in any order (at a cost of 24 games).

Prizes can be won for matching at least one number in the correct position. Divisions are named according to how many numbers were matched:

* Strike Four (Jackpot) - match all 4 numbers in the correct position
* Strike Three - match 3 of the numbers in the correct position
* Strike Two - match 2 of the numbers in the correct position
* Strike One (one free Lotto Strike game) - match one of the numbers in the correct position

The odds of winning Strike Four with a single game is 1 in 3,575,880.

The Strike Four jackpot starts at $100,000 and increases by about $30,000 (depending on sales) with each draw. Due to the relative unpopularity of Lotto Strike, jackpots occur often and it can often take many months for a Strike Four prize to be won. The Strike Four prize is capped at $2 1000000, with any further jackpots being added to the next Strike Four pool after it is next won.

Although New South Wales is the entirely state in Australia that plays Lotto Strike, the format is also played in New Zealand with their national Lotto game.

Wednesday Gold Lotto

Wednesday Gold Lotto is a statewide lottery game played in Queensland, and administered by Golden Casket, the Queensland lotteries corporation. Started in 1996[13], Wednesday Gold Lotto is played like Saturday Lotto, with games costing 50 cents each plus agent's commission.

The main point of difference being in its unusual First Division system: instead of offering a jackpotting prize pool shared by all Division 1 winners, Wednesday Gold Lotto guarantees a fixed $1 1000000 prize for up to 4 separate winners in each draw, with the $4 1000000 prize pool entirely being divided among its winners if more than 4 match all six numbers in one draw. Unclaimed first division prizes are used to fund future Division 1 prizes, or for other promotional purposes.

Tatts 2

Tatts 2 is a Tattersalls product played entirely in its territories. It is one of the simplest games that can be played. A player selects 2 numbers from (1-99) in each game; which costs 55c. Each night at about 7:00 2 numbers from (1-99) are drawn.

Those player matching either number win a fixed prize of $3. Those matching both numbers then share the remainder of the prize pool, with a minimum prize of $500. In some draws (commonly once a week), both the 1 Number prize and the 2 Number minimum prize are doubled. The odds of matching both numbers with a single entry is 1 in 4,851.

There is the provision for a jackpot for the 2 Number prize, which can jackpot for five weeks before being rolled down into the 1 Number dividend. Even so jackpots very rarely occur.

Cash 3

Cash 3 is a lottery game played in Western Australia and administered by Lotterywest. The Cash 3 format is also used in several places in the United States. It is drawn every night of the year and the numbers telecast on Channel Seven in Perth, and on GWN in regional Western Australia.

Players select 3 digit, and may pick out to bet on those 3 digit being drawn in any order, in that specific order, or both. Games can be played for either 50 cents or $1.00, and can be bought up to 7 days in advance. Prizes are fixed according to the probability of winning, with the highest possible prize being $500 for a "straight-up" $1 wager.

Draw Lotteries

This section refers to 'traditional' draw style lotteries offered by Australian lottery organisations. In this type of game, a set number of tickets - typically in the low six figures - are offered for sale in each draw. A set of numbers are then drawn (these days by a random number generator) and are awarded prizes, with many consolation prizes often offered.

New South Wales: Lucky Lotteries

Lucky Lotteries is the current brand name given to draw lotteries administered by New South Wales Lotteries. Currently, 2 lotteries are run under this name: the $2 Jackpot Lottery and the $5 Jackpot Lottery. (Both denominations exclude agent's commission, so a $2 Jackpot Lottery ticket in fact costs $2.15; a $5 ticket costs $5.30.)

Tickets are entirely available via a "Auto Pick"-style allocation (ie. individual numbers cannot be selected), although those buying multiple tickets have the option of buying a sequential run of numbers or a random selection. Players can also buy a certain number of draws in advance (up to 10 with the $2 lottery, and up to 2 in the $5 lottery). Due to the high demand for draw lottery tickets (and the $2 Jackpot Lottery in particular), it is often the case that a ticket bought today will be for a draw a week or so from today, rather than for the next day. (This has led to New South Wales Lotteries adding disclaimers in recent years stating that any jackpot advertised may have been won by the time your lottery is drawn.) Draws are conducted at the New South Wales Lotteries offices in the morning, and winning numbers are published in some major papers and are available to claim the day after the draw.

In each draw, a first, second and third prize is drawn, as well as a number of smaller prizes down to $10. One-off prizes are awarded to tickets that are one ticket number either side of each cash prize, with a $1,000 cash prize for being one-off first prize, and a number of free tickets for an advance draw of the same lottery for being one-off any other cash prize. (Free tickets are always awarded as a sequential run of numbers.)

A jackpot ticket number is then drawn, separately from the main draw. If the ticket number drawn matches a winning number exactly (one-offs do not count), then they win the jackpot; otherwise, that number wins 10 free tickets for an advance draw and the jackpot increments by a certain amount. In recent years the $2 Jackpot - which is statistically more difficult to win than the "6-from-45" Tattslotto-style games - has reached more than $10 1000000 more than once through continued jackpotting; the record jackpot was in July 2003 when a $13,700,000 prize was won[14].

The differences between the $2 and $5 Jackpot Lotteries can be summarised by the following table (current as to 2006-01-28):
Characteristic $2 Jackpot Lottery $5 Jackpot Lottery
Draw Frequency Typically once a day* On average, once every 2 weeks
Maximum Number of Tickets 200,000 160,000
Total Number of Prizes* 10,147 12,880
First Prize $100,000 $200,000
Minimum Jackpot $500,000 $1,000,000
Jackpot Increment $75,000 $170,000
Odds of Winning Jackpot 1 in 11,827,321 1 in 5,963,195
Odds of Winning Cash Prize 1 in 59.1 1 in 37.3
Odds of Winning Any Prize 1 in 19.7 1 in 12.4

* Draw Frequency: Multiple draws of the $2 Jackpot Lottery may be conducted on the same day if ticket sales demand it, such as dur periods with a high jackpot.
* Total Number of Prizes: includes one-off prizes and one prize for a non-winning jackpot ticket number.

Former Games

New South Wales Lotteries have also conducted a number of $10 draw lotteries in the past, although none are currently conducted. The most recent $10 lottery conducted was called Lucky 7, which replaced the Million Dollar Lottery (a non-jackpotting draw lottery that was otherwise alike to the $2 and $5 games) before it in 1996 and continued until 2001[15]. Each $10 ticket was entered for five consecutive weekly draws.

Three separate numbers were drawn, named after the number of digit in each winning number: Lucky 7 (with numbers ranging from 1000000-1999999), Lucky 6 (100000-449999) and Lucky 3 (000-999). Prizes were awarded in a alike manner to Super 66, with a $1 1000000 prize offered for matching the Lucky 7 number exactly, while consolation prizes were awarded for matching the last digit of the other numbers - as few as 3 digit for the Lucky 6, or 2 digit for the Lucky 3 number.

Queensland: Casket

Casket (or the $2 Casket) is the name given to the draw lottery administered by Queensland's lottery operator, Golden Casket. The name of the game dates back to the first Queensland draw lotteries - with cash prizes originally prohibited by law, the first prize was awarded as a casket of gold valued at a certain amount, which was then immediately bought back from winners for its cash value[16].

Draws commonly take place about 7 times a year (the draw dates of which are fixed in advance), and a maximum of 110,000 tickets (at $2 each) are sold for each draw. Specific numbers can be selected by the player when buying a Casket ticket (as long as the number has not already been selected), or otherwise automatically allocated through a Quick Pick.

Each draw has a first prize of $100,000, and consolation prizes are drawn to as low as $5. There is no jackpot component. One-off prizes are also drawn, although unlike New South Wales these are paid in cash, with the most common prize being $2 for being one-off any the numbers outside the first 3 prizes. There are 7,089 prizes awarded in each $2 Casket draw (including one-off prizes), making the odds of winning any prize around 1 in 15.5.

South Australia: LuckySA Lottery

The first LuckySA Lottery draw was launched in June 2007[17], and conducted on 2008-01-02. This $5 draw lottery 18 offered a top prize of $500,000 and a total of 18 prize-winning numbers (down to $50) out of a maximum of 200,000 tickets. It is not yet clear how often the LuckySA Lottery will be drawn.

Former Lottery Games

SA Lotto

SA Lotto, previously known as Cross Lotto or X Lotto, was a statewide lottery game played entirely in South Australia, and administered by South Australian Lotteries. At its winding up, the game was played twice a week, on Mondays and Wednesdays. Games of SA Lotto cost 30 cents plus agent's commission, and offered a $400,000 guaranteed minimum prize for Division One. SA Lotto was replaced with an expanded version of NSW Lotto on 2006-05-01; the game is simply marketed as Lotto, in line with the Saturday version, replacing the SA Lotto brand.

The draw format was the same as for the Saturday draw, with six winning numbers and 2 supplementary numbers drawn from 45. SA Lotto was notable in that there were six divisions instead of five, with an additional division for games with 4 matching winning numbers, plus a supplementary number. The First Division pool was last increased, from $300,000 to $400,000, in November 2003, at the same time as the re-introduction of a mid-week draw on Wednesdays, which had previously been replaced by Powerball[19].

Instants (Scratchies)

Most Australian lottery companies bid "Scratchies" or instants which can be purchased at outlets. Player scratch and try to match numbers, complete puzzles or reveal codes to obtain a prize. Instants come in many varieties, commonly at $1, $2, $3, $4, $5 and $10 prize levels. Although games are often shared between lottery companies, scratchies purchased in one Australian state are not often exchangeable in another.

Superdraw

A Superdraw is the term given to a Saturday Lotto draw with a much larger guaranteed jackpot pool than usual. Members of the Australian Lotto Bloc use part of their revenue from normal weekly draws to fund these special draws, which occur 7 times a year. In the days of the "Second Draw", Superdraw pools - like regular first division pools - were split evenly between the 2 draws (commonly $8 1000000 each at the time), however now all the funds are pooled into the one draw, resulting in a higher headline figure.

In recent years Superdraws have seen guaranteed First Division prize pools of around $20 1000000. Since 1999, the last Superdraw of each year is often known as a "Megadraw" - its guaranteed First Division pool is larger still, with the 2005 draw's First Division pool amassing $32 1000000. The end-of-year Megadraw - which began as a "Millennium Megadraw" on 1999-12-31 - is conducted on the last Saturday of the year, or on New Year's Eve if it falls on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

A Superdraw is supposedly better value for money; because the prize pool is greater than the relative odds and cost of entry. Even so on saying that it is still extremely hard to win and many people buy more lotto on Superdraws because they feel the odds are better when they are actually the same.

References

1. ^ Tattersalls Limited (2006). Results History: Tattslotto (draws conducted by Tattersall's as member of the Australian Lotto Bloc). Retrieved on 2006-03-03.
2. ^ Tattersalls Limited (2006). Results History: Tattslotto (draws conducted by Tattersall's entirely). Retrieved on 2006-03-03.
3. ^ South Australian Lotteries Commission (2005). SA Lotteries History. Retrieved on 2006-02-11.
4. ^ Tattersalls Limited (2006). Results History: Tattslotto (draws conducted by Tattersall's as member of the Australian Lotto Bloc). Retrieved on 2006-03-03.
5. ^ Tattersalls Limited (2006). Results History: Super 7's Oz Lotto. Retrieved on 2006-03-03.
6. ^ South Australian Lotteries Commission (2005). SA Lotteries History. Retrieved on 2006-02-11.
7. ^ South Australian Lotteries. Super 66: Learn To Play. Accessed on 2008-01-12.
8. ^ South Australian Lotteries Commission (2005). State Lotteries Act 1966: Lotteries (The Pools) Rules. Retrieved on 2006-02-03.
9. ^ South Australian Lotteries Commission. The Pools: Lucky Numbers. Retrieved on 2006-02-03. (A list of number frequencies in The Pools since Draw 201.)
10. ^ Tattersalls Limited (August 2005). The Pools Rules. Retrieved on 2006-02-03.
11. ^ State of Western Australia. Lotteries Commission (Soccer Pools) Rules 1996. Retrieved on 2006-02-03.
12. ^ New South Wales Lotteries (2006). Monday and Wednesday Lotto is on the move. Flyer explaining the expansion of NSW Lotto to South Australia and Western Australia.
13. ^ Golden Casket Lottery Corporation. Golden Casket Frequently Asked Questions. Accessed on 2008-01-12.
14. ^ New South Wales Lotteries (2005-08-31). $2 Jackpot Lottery won at $12.275 1000000 - second highest ever. Retrieved on 2006-01-28.
15. ^ New South Wales Lotteries (2004). New South Wales Lotteries 2004 annual report. Retrieved on 2006-01-28.
16. ^ Golden Casket Lottery Corporation (2005?). About Golden Casket Lottery Corporation, Queensland. Retrieved on 2006-02-11.
17. ^ South Australian Lotteries (2007-06-08). Media release: New lottery based on tradition of old. Accessed on 2008-01-12.
18. ^ South Australian Lotteries (2007). SA Lotteries - Games - LuckySA Lottery. Accessed on 2008-01-12.
19. ^ South Australian Lotteries Commission (2005). SA Lotteries History. Retrieved on 2006-02-11.

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Lotteries in the United States

Lotteries in the United States are run by individual jurisdictions. Most states have amended or re-written their constitutions to allow for a legal lottery. (Although not states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands each operate a lottery.)

In the U.S., the existence of lotteries is subject to the laws of each jurisdiction; there is no national lottery.

History

Private lotteries were legal in the United States in the early 1800s.1 In fact, a number of US patents were granted on new types of lottery. In today's vernacular, these would be considered business method patents.

Before the advent of state-sponsored lotteries, many illegal lotteries thrived; for example, see Numbers game and Peter H. Matthews. The first modern state lottery in the U.S. was established in New Hampshire in 1964; today, lotteries are established in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands.

The first modern interstate lottery in the U.S. was formed in 1985 and linked 3 of the New England states. In 1988, the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) was formed with Oregon, Iowa, Kansas, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Missouri, and the District of Columbia as its charter members; it is best known for its "Powerball" drawing, which is designed to build up very large jackpots. Another interstate lottery, The Big Game (now called Mega Millions), was formed in 1996 by the states of Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, and Virginia as its charter members. These states were joined by New Jersey (1999), New York and Ohio (May 2002), Washington (September 2002), Texas (2003), and California (2005) for a total of 12 members. 4

Instant lottery tickets, also known as scratch cards, were introduced in the 1970s and have since become a major source of state lottery revenue. Some states have introduced keno and video lottery terminals (slot machines in all but name).

Other interstate lotteries include: Cashola, Hot Lotto, and Wild Card 2, 3 of MUSL's other games.

With the advent of the Internet it became possible for people to play lottery-style games on-line, many times for free (the cost of the ticket being supplemented by merely seeing, say, a pop-up ad). Two of the many websites which bid free games (after registration) include iwinweekly.com and the larger iWon.com, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of IAC Search & Media. GTech Corporation, in the United States, administers 70% of the worldwide online and instant lottery business, according to its website. With online gaming rules generally prohibitive, "lottery" games face less scrutiny. This is leading to the increase in web sites offering lottery ticket purchasing services, charging premiums on base lottery prices. The legality of such services falls into question across many jurisdictions, especially throughout the United States, as the gambling laws related to lottery play generally have not kept pace with the spread of technology.

Presently, many lotteries in the US donate large portions of their proceeds to the public education system. Even so, these funds frequently replace instead of supplement conventional funding, resulting in no additional money for education.

Chart
Map showing the states that have a state lottery (colored: blue)
Map showing the states that have a state lottery (colored: blue)

State Lottery? Number of
Interstate
Games
Alabama No -
Alaska No -
Arizona Yes 1
Arkansas No -
California Yes 1
Colorado Yes 1
Connecticut Yes 1
Delaware Yes 3
District of Columbia Yes 2
Florida Yes 0
Georgia Yes 2
Hawaii No -
Idaho Yes 3
Illinois Yes 1*
Indiana Yes 1
Iowa Yes 3*
Kansas Yes 4
Kentucky Yes 2
Louisiana Yes 1
Maine Yes 5
Maryland Yes 1
Massachusetts Yes 1
Michigan Yes 1
Minnesota Yes 2
Mississippi No -
Missouri Yes 1
Montana Yes 3
Nebraska Yes 2
Nevada No -
New Hampshire Yes 6
New Jersey Yes 1
New Mexico Yes 2
New York Yes 1
North Carolina Yes 1
North Dakota Yes 4
Ohio Yes 1
Oklahoma Yes 2
Oregon Yes 1
Pennsylvania Yes 1
Puerto Rico Yes 0
Rhode Island Yes 2
South Carolina Yes 1
South Dakota Yes 3
Tennessee Yes 1
Texas Yes 1
Utah No -
Vermont Yes 5
Virgin Islands Yes 1
Virginia Yes 2
Washington Yes 1
West Virginia Yes 3
Wisconsin Yes 1
Wyoming No -

NOTE: Illinois draws pick-3 and pick-4 numbers that are also used to determine winners for the pick-3 and pick-4 games played in neighboring Iowa.

The above list includes the Midwest Millions instant scratch game available in Iowa and Kansas.

States and associated Interstate Lotteries

Interstate lotteries are also referred to as multistate lotteries or multistate games. Of the 42 states that have lotteries, entirely Florida is not a member of a multistate game, even though state statute 24.105(18)1 specifically allows the legislature or governor to direct the lottery department to participate if it is in the best interest of the Florida Lottery.

Powerball

Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virgin Islands, West Virginia, Wisconsin

Hot Lotto

Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia, District of Columbia (note: all but Idaho bid the "Sizzler" tripler option)

Cashola

(video lottery) Delaware, Rhode Island, West Virginia

Midwest Millions

(scratch game) Iowa, Kansas

Wild Card 2

Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota

2by2

Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota

Mega Millions

California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, Washington state

Tri-State Lottery

Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont

Win for Life

Georgia, Kentucky, Virginia

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Lottery

A lottery is a popular form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize. Some governments outlaw it, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national lottery. It is common to find some degree of regulation of lottery by governments.

At the beginning of the 20th century, most forms of gambling, including lotteries and sweepstakes, were illegal in many countries, including the U.S.A. and most of Europe. This remained so until after World War II. In the 1960s casinos and lotteries began to appear throughout the world as a means to raise revenue in addition to taxes.

Lotteries are most often run by governments or local states and are sometimes described as a regressive tax, since those most likely to buy tickets will typically be the less affluent members of a society. The astronomically high odds against winning have also led to the epithets of a "tax on stupidity", "math tax" or "voluntary tax". They are intended to suggest that lotteries, being an addictive form of gambling, are governmental revenue-raising mechanisms that will attract entirely those consumers who fail to see that the game is a very bad deal. Indeed, the desire of lottery operators to guarantee themselves a profit requires that an average lottery ticket be worth substantially less than what it costs to buy. After taking into account the present value of the lottery prize as a single lump sum cash payment, the impact of any taxes that might apply, and the likelihood of having to share the prize with other winners, it is not uncommon to find that a ticket for a typical major lottery is worth less than one third of its purchase price. The large multi 1000000 dollar prize lotteries in the USA are paid by annuity over 20 years. Therefore, if you take a one-time lump sum cash payment, plus pay the federal taxes, you will end up with about one third of the total prize money offered.

Lotteries come in many formats. The prize can be fixed cash or goods. In this format there is risk to the organizer if insufficient tickets are sold. The prize can be a fixed percentage of the receipts. A popular form of this is the "50-50" draw where the organizers promise that the prize will be 50% of the revenue. The prize may be guaranteed to be unique where each ticket sold has a unique number. Many recent lotteries allow purchasers to select the numbers on the lottery ticket resulting in the possibility of multiple winners.

The fact that lotteries are commonly played leads to some contradictions against standard models of economic rationality. Even so, the expectations of some player may not be to win the game, but to experience the thrill and indulge in a fantasy of possibly becoming wealthy. Even ignoring the thrill factor, there is the theoretical possibility that the purchase of a lottery ticket could represent a gain in expected utility, even though it represents a loss in expected monetary value, thus making the purchase a rational decision. Insurance, for instance, represents negative expected monetary value but is not considered to be a tax on stupidity because it is generally believed to deliver positive expected utility to the individual.

Lottery tickets are commonly scanned in large numbers, using marksense-technology. With today's computer performance, it takes less than one second to check if a particular combination was picked up by anyone, even for lotteries like Euromillions or Mega Millions.

Early history

The first signs of a lottery trace back the Han Dynasty between 205 and 187 B.C., where ancient Keno slips were discovered. The lottery has helped finance major governmental projects like the Great Wall of China. From the Chinese "The Book of Songs" (second millennium B.C.) 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 "teulet pren" translates into "to throw wood" and means "to draw lots". The Iliad by Homer refers to lots being placed into Agamemon's helmet to determine who would fight Hector.

The first known European lottery occurred dur the Roman Empire, and was mainly done as a form of 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 dur the Saturnalian revelries. The earliest records of a lottery offering tickets for sale is the lottery organized by Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar. The funds were for repairs to the City of Rome, and the winners were given prizes in the form of articles of unequal value.

The earliest public lottery on record is that which was held in the Dutch town of Sluis in 1434.

The first recorded lotteries to bid tickets for sale with prizes in the form of money were held in the Low Countries dur the period 1443-1449. Various towns in Flanders (parts of Belgium, Holland, and France), held public lotteries to raise money for town fortifications, and raising money to help the poor. The town records of Ghent, Utrecht, and Bruges, indicate that the lotteries may well be of even greater antiquity. An early 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.1 In the seventeenth century it was quite normal in The Netherlands to organize lotteries in order to collect money for the poor. Tickets cost about 4 guilders and the prizes were paintings (50 to 100 per lottery); some of these the paintings were produced by nowadays famous painters as Jan van Goyen.

The Dutch were the first to shift the lottery to solely money prizes and base prizes on odds (roughly about 1 in 4 tickets winning a prize). The lottery proved to be very popular, and was hailed as a painless form of taxation. In the Netherlands the lottery was used to raise money for e.g. supporting poor people, building dikes, construction of defense works for towns and to buy free sailors from slavery in the Arab countries. The English word lottery stems from the Dutch word loterij, which is derived from the Dutch noun lot meaning fate. The Dutch state owned staatsloterij is the oldest still existing lottery.

England, 1566-1826

Although it is more than likely that the English first experimented with raffles and alike games of chance, the first recorded official lottery was chartered by Queen Elizabeth I, in the year 1566, and was drawn in 1569. This lottery was designed to raise money for the "reparation of the havens and strength of the Realme, and towardes such other publique good workes." Each ticket holder won a prize, and the total value of the prizes equaled the money raised. Prizes were in the form of silver plate and other valuable commodities. The lottery was promoted by scrolls posted throughout the country showing sketches of the prizes. 2
English Lottery 1566 Scroll.
English Lottery 1566 Scroll.

Thus, the lottery money received was a loan to the government dur the 3 years that the tickets ('without any Blankes') were sold. In later years, the government sold the lottery ticket rights to brokers, who in turn hired agents and runners to sell them. These brokers eventually became the modern day stockbrokers for various commercial ventures.

Most people could not afford the entire cost of a lottery ticket, so the brokers would sell shares in a ticket; this resulted in tickets being issued with a notation such as "Sixteenth" or "Third Class."
English State Lottery Ticket 1814 issued by broker Swift & Co.
English State Lottery Ticket 1814 issued by broker Swift & Co.

Many private lotteries were held, including raising money for The Virginia Company of London to support its settlement in America at Jamestown. The English State Lottery ran from 1694 until 1826. Thus, the English lotteries ran for over 2 hundred and fifty years, until the government under constant pressure from the opposition in parliament declared a final lottery in 1826. This lottery was held up to ridicule by contemporary commentators as "the last struggle of the speculators on public credulity for popularity to their last dying lottery."

Colonial and early America, 1612-1900
Ticket from an 1814 lottery to raise money for Queen's College, New Jersey.
Ticket from an 1814 lottery to raise money for Queen's College, New Jersey.

An English lottery authorized by King James I in 1612, granted the Virginia Company of London the right to raise money to help establish settlers in the first permanent English colony at Jamestown, Virginia.

Lotteries in colonial America played a significant part in the financing of both private and public ventures. It has been recorded that more than 2 hundred lotteries were sanctioned between 1744 and 1776 where they played a major role in financing projects that included roads, libraries, churches, colleges, canals, bridges, etc.3 In the 1740s, Princeton and Columbia University had their beginnings financed by lotteries, as did the University of Pennsylvania by the Academy Lottery in 1755.

During the French and Indian Wars, several colonies used lotteries to supplement the cost of building fortifications and supporting their local militia. In May 1758, the State of Massachusetts raised money with a lottery for the "Expedition against Canada."
Massachusetts Lottery Ticket 1758 French & Indian Wars
Massachusetts Lottery Ticket 1758 French & Indian Wars

Benjamin Franklin organized a lottery to raise money to purchase cannon for the defense of Philadelphia. Several of these lotteries offered prizes in the form of "Pieces of Eight." George Washington's Mountain Road Lottery was unsuccessful in 1768. Even so, these rare lottery tickets bearing George Washington's signature have become collector's items which sell for about $15,000 in 2007. Later, in 1769, Washington was a manager for Col. Bernard Moore's "Slave Lottery" whereby land and slaves were advertised as prizes in the Virginia Gazette.
1776 Lottery ticket issued by Continental Congress to finance Revolutionary War.
1776 Lottery ticket issued by Continental Congress to finance Revolutionary War.

At the outset of the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress used lotteries to raise money to support the Colonial Army. Alexander Hamilton wrote that lotteries should be kept simple, and that, "Everybody...will be willing to hazard a trifling sum for the chance of considerable gain...and would prefer a small chance of winning a great deal to a great chance of winning little." Taxes had never been accepted as a way to raise public funding for projects, and this led to the popular belief that lotteries were a form of a hidden tax.

At the end of the Revolutionary War the various states had to resort to lotteries to raise funds for numerous public projects. For many years these lotteries were highly successful and contributed to the nation's rapid growth. The lotteries were used for such diverse projects as the Pennsylvania Schuylkill - Susquehanna Canal (lottery in May, 1795), and Harvard College (lottery in March, 1806). Many American churches raised needed building funds through state authorized private lotteries.
Harvard Lottery Ticket 1811
Harvard Lottery Ticket 1811

Even so, they eventually became a source of financial mismanagement and scandal. Most notorious of the lotteries was the Louisiana State Lottery (1868-1892) which was aptly called the "Golden Octopus" because its tentacles reached into every home in America.
Louisiana Lottery 1/20th of a $20 ticket: The Last of the Lotteries
Louisiana Lottery 1/20th of a $20 ticket: The Last of the Lotteries

Toward the end of the nineteenth century a large majority of state constitutions banned lotteries. Finally, on July 29, 1890, U.S. President Benjamin Harrison sent a message to Congress demanding "severe and effective legislation" against lotteries. Congress acted swiftly, and banned the U.S. mails from carrying lottery tickets. The Supreme Court upheld the law in 1892, and that brought a complete halt to all lotteries in the U.S.A. by 1900.

When lotteries raised their head again in 1964, it would take many years of constitutional amendements by the various states before the lotteries were allowed to flourish again...and flourish they did.

On March 12, 1964, the New Hampshire Sweepstakes became the first state to sell lottery tickets in the modern era.
New Hampshire Lottery Ticket 1964
New Hampshire Lottery Ticket 1964

For modern USA lotteries visit: Lotteries in the United States

Countries with a national lottery
This maneki neko beckons customers to purchase takarakuji tickets in Tokyo, Japan.
This maneki neko beckons customers to purchase takarakuji tickets in Tokyo, Japan.

Americas

* Argentina: Quiniela, Loto and various others
* Barbados: Barbados lottery and various others
* Brazil: Mega-Sena and various others
* Canada: Lotto 6/49 and Lotto Super 7
* Dominican Republic: Loter�a Electr�nica Internacional Dominicana S.A.
* Ecuador: Loter�a Nacional
* Mexico: Loter�a Nacional para la Asistencia P�blica and Pron�sticos para la Asistencia P�blica

Europe

* Pan-European: EuroMillions
* Nordic countries: Viking Lotto
* Austria: Lotto 6 aus 45, EuroMillions and Zahlenlotto
* Belgium: Loterie Nationale or Nationale Loterij and EuroMillions
* Bulgaria: TOTO 2 6/49
* Croatia: Hrvatska lutrija
* Denmark: Lotto, Klasselotteriet
* Finland: Lotto
* France: La Fran�aise des Jeux and EuroMillions
* Germany: Lotto 6 aus 49, Spiel 77 and Super 6
* Greece: Lotto 6/49, Joker 5/45 + 1/20 and various others
* Hungary: Lott�
* Iceland: Lott�
* Ireland: The National Lottery, An Chrannchur N�isi�nta and EuroMillions
* Italy: Lotto and SuperEnalotto
* Latvia: Latloto 5/35, SuperBingo, Keno
* Luxembourg: EuroMillions
* Malta: Super 5 and Lotto
* Montenegro: Lutrija Crne Gore
* Netherlands: Staatsloterij]
* Norway: Lotto
* Poland: Lotto
* Portugal: Lotaria Cl�ssica, EuroMillions and Lotaria Popular
* Serb Republic: Lutrija Republike Srpske
* Romania: Loteria Romana
* Russia: Sportloto
* Serbia: Drzavna lutrija Srbije
* Slovakia: Loto
* Slovenia: Loterija Slovenije
* Spain: Loter�as y Apuestas del Estado, EuroMillions and ONCE
* Sweden: Lotto
* Switzerland: Swiss Lotto and EuroMillions
* Turkey: Various games by Milli Piyango Idaresi (National Lottery Administration) including Loto 6/49 and jackpots
* United Kingdom: The National Lottery, the main game being Lotto. Also Monday - The Charities Lottery and EuroMillions

Asia

* Hong Kong: Mark Six
* Israel: Lotto
* Japan: Takarakuji
* Lebanon: La Libanaise des Jeux
* Malaysia: Sports Toto, Magnum and Magnum 4D, Pan Malaysian Pools (da ma chai)
* Philippines: Philippine Lotto Draw
* Singapore: TOTO, 4D
* South Korea: Lotto
* Taiwan: Taiwan Lottery
* Thailand: ????????????????? (salak gin bang ratthabarn or "Government Lottery"), also called lottery or ??? (huay).

Africa

* South Africa: South African National Lottery
* Kenya: Toto 6/49, Kenya Charity Sweepstake,

Australia

* Australia: Lotteries in Australia, Powerball, Golden Casket

Country lottery details

In several countries, lotteries are legalized by the governments themselves. In addition, with the explosion of the internet, several online web-entirely lotteries and traditional lotteries with online payments have surfaced. In the web-entirely lotteries, the user has to select his pick and either watch an ad for a few seconds before his pick is confirmed or has to click on a web banner/link to register his pick in the system. The numbers may be drawn by the site that runs the online lotto or might be linked to a major physical lotto draw to ensure reliability. Prize money ranges from $100,000 to $10 1000000.

United States

Main article: Lotteries in the United States

In the United States, the existence of lotteries is subject to the laws of each state; there is no national lottery.
Header from 1840 US patent on a new type of private lottery
Header from 1840 US patent on a new type of private lottery

Private lotteries were legal in the United States in the early 1800s.4 In fact, a number of US patents were granted on new types of lotteries. In today's vernacular, these would be considered business method patents.

Before the advent of state-sponsored lotteries, many illegal lotteries thrived; for example, see Numbers game and Peter H. Matthews. The first modern state lottery in the U.S. was established in the state of New Hampshire in 1964; as of 2008, lotteries are established in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands.

The first modern interstate lottery in the U.S. was formed in 1985 and linked 3 of the New England states. In 1988, the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) was formed with Oregon, Iowa, Kansas, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Missouri, and the District of Columbia as its charter members; it is best known for its "Powerball" drawing, which is designed to build up very large jackpots. Another interstate lottery, The Big Game (now called Mega Millions), was formed in 1996 by the states of Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan and Virginia as its charter members. These states were joined by New Jersey (1999), New York and Ohio (May 2002), Washington state (September 2002), Texas (2003) and California (2005) for a total of 12 members. 1

Instant lottery tickets, also known as scratch cards, were first introduced in the 1970s and have since become a major source of state lottery revenue. Some states have introduced keno and video lottery terminals (slot machines in all but name).

Other interstate lotteries include Cashola, Hot Lotto and Wild Card 2, some of MUSL's other games.

With the advent of the Internet it became possible for people to play lottery-style games on-line, many times for free (the cost of the ticket being supplemented by merely seeing, say, a pop-up ad). Three of the many websites which bid free games (after registration) include iwinweekly.com, GuessLotto.com and the larger iWon.com, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of IAC Search & Media. GTech Corporation, in the United States, administers 70% of the worldwide online and instant lottery business, according to its website. With online gaming rules generally prohibitive, "lottery" games face less scrutiny. This is leading to the increase in web sites offering lottery ticket purchasing services, charging premiums on base lottery prices. The legality of such services falls into question across many jurisdictions, especially throughout the United States, as the gambling laws related to lottery play generally have not kept pace with the spread of technology.

The most recent evolution of the lottery on the internet has appeared on the social network Facebook. The free lottery has weekly drawings and allows people to receive daily lottery tickets and send their friends tickets.

Presently, many state lotteries in the USA donate large portions of their proceeds to the public education system. Even so these funds frequently replace instead of supplement conventional funding, resulting in no additional money for education.

Canada

In Canada prior to 1967 buying a ticket on the Irish Sweepstakes was illegal. In that year the federal Liberal government introduced a special law (an Omnibus Bill) intended to bring up-to-date a number of obsolete laws. The Minister of Justice at that time, Pierre-Elliot Trudeau, sponsored the bill. On September 12, 1967, Mr. Trudeau announced that his government would insert an amendment concerning lotteries.

Even while the Omnibus Bill was still being written, Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau, trying to recover some of the money spent on the World�s Fair and the new subway system, announced a "voluntary tax". For a $2.00 donation you would be eligible to participate in a draw with a grand prize of $100 000. According to Drapeau, this "tax" was not a lottery for 2 reasons. The prizes were given out in the form of silver bars, not money, and the "competitors" chosen in a drawing would have to reply correctly to 4 questions about Montreal dur a second draw. That competition would determine the value of the prize that the succeeder would win. The replies to the questions were printed on the back of the ticket and therefore the questions would not cause any undue problems. The inaugural draw was held on May 27, 1968.

There were debates in Ottawa and Quebec City about the legality of this 'voluntary tax'. The Minister of Justice alleged it was a lottery. Montreal�s mayor replied that it did not contravene the federal law. While everyone awaited the verdict, the monthly draws went off without a hitch. Players from all over Canada, the United States, Europe, and Asia participated.

On September 14, 1968 the Quebec Appeal Court declared Mayor Drapeau�s "voluntary tax" illegal. Even so, the municipal authorities did not give up the struggle; the Council announced in November that the City would appeal this decision to the Supreme Court.

As the debate over legalities continued, sales dropped significantly, because many people did not want to participate in anything illegal. Despite offers of new prizes the revenue continued to drop monthly, and by the nineteenth and final draw, was entirely a little over $800 000.

On December 23, 1969 an amendment was made to the Canada's Criminal Code, allowing a provincial government to legally operate lottery systems.

The first provincial lottery in Canada was Quebec's Inter-Loto in 1970. Other provinces and regions introduced their own lotteries through the 1970s, and the federal government ran Loto Canada (originally the Olympic Lottery) for several years starting in the late 1970s to help recoup the expenses of the 1976 Summer Olympics. Lottery wins are generally not subject to Canadian tax, but may be taxable in other jurisdictions, depending on the residency of the succeeder.2

Today, Canada has 2 nation-wide lotteries: Lotto 6/49, and Lotto Super 7 (which started in 1994). These games are administered by the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation, which is a consortium of the five regional lottery commissions, all of which are owned by their respective provincial and territorial governments:

* Atlantic Lottery Corporation (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador)
* Loto-Qu�bec (Quebec)
* Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (Ontario)
* Western Canada Lottery Corporation (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories, Nunavut)
* British Columbia Lottery Corporation (British Columbia)

France

The first known lottery in France was created by King Francis I in or around 1505. After that first attempt, lotteries were forbidden for 2 centuries. They reappeared at the end of the 17th century, as a "public lottery" for the Paris municipality (called Loterie de L'Hotel de Ville) and as "private" ones for religious orders, mostly for nuns in convents.

Lotteries quickly became one of the most important resources for religious congregations in the 18th century, and helped to build or rebuild about 15 churches in Paris, including St. Sulpice and Le Panth�on. At the beginning of the century, the King avoided having to fund religious orders by giving them the right to run lotteries, but the amounts generated became so large that the second part of the century turned into a struggle between the monarchy and the Church for control of the lotteries. In 1774, the monarchy--specifically Madame de Pompadour--founded the Loterie de L'�cole Militaire to buy what is called today the Champ de Mars in Paris, and build a military academy that Napoleon Bonaparte would later attend; they also banned all other lotteries, with 3 or 4 minor exceptions. This lottery became known a few years later as the Loterie Royale de France. Just before the French Revolution in 1789, the revenues from La Lotterie Royale de France were equivalent to between 5 and 7% of total French revenues.

Throughout the 18th century, philosophers like Voltaire as well as some bishops complained that lotteries exploit the poor. This subject has generated much oral and written debate over the morality of the lottery. All lotteries (including state lotteries) were frowned upon by idealists of the French Revolution, who viewed them as a method used by the rich for cheating the poor out of their wages.

The Lottery reappeared again in 1936, called loto, when socialists needed to increase state revenue. Since that time, La Fran�aise des Jeux (government owned) has had a monopoly on most of the games in France, including the lotteries. There have also been reports of lotteries regarding the mass guillotine executions in France. It has been said that a number was attached to the head of each person to be executed and then after all the executions, the executioner would pull out one head and the people with the number that matched the one on the head were awarded prizes (commonly small ones); each number was 3-to-5 digit long.

New Zealand

Main article: New Zealand Lotteries Commission

Lotteries in New Zealand are controlled by the Government. A state owned trading organisation, the New Zealand Lotteries Commission, operates low prize scratch ticket games and Powerball type lotteries with weekly prize jackpots. Lottery profits are distributed by the New Zealand Lottery Grants Board directly to charities and community organisations. Sport and Recreation New Zealand, Creative New Zealand and the New Zealand Film Commission are statutory bodies that operate autonomously in distributing their allocations from the Lottery Grants Board.

The lotteries are drawn on Saturday and Wednesday. Lotto is sold via a network of computer terminals in shopping centers across the nation. The Lotto game was first played in 1987 and replaced New Zealand's original national lotteries, the Art Union and Golden Kiwi. Lotto is a pick 6 from 40 numbers game. The odds of winning the first division prize of around NZ$300,000 to NZ$2 1000000 are 1 in 3,838,380.

The Powerball game is the standard pick 6 from 40 Lotto numbers with an additional pick 1 from 10 Powerball number. This game has odds of 1 in 30,707,040 and a first prize of between NZ$1 1000000 and NZ$15 1000000. In 2007 Powerball changed to a pick 1 of 10 game (formerly pick 1 of 8) and the minimum Powerball prize increased from $1 1000000 to $2 1000000. Big Wednesday is a game played by picking 6 numbers from 45 plus heads or tails from a coin toss. A jackpot cash prize of NZ$1 1000000 to NZ$15 1000000 is supplemented with product prizes such as Porsche and Aston Martin cars, boats, holiday homes and luxury travel. The odds of winning first prize are 1 in 16,290,120.

Probability of winning

The chances of winning a lottery jackpot are principally determined by several factors: the count of possible numbers, the count of winning numbers drawn, whether or not order is significant and whether drawn numbers are returned for the possibility of further drawing.

In a typical 6 from 49 lotto, 6 numbers are drawn from 49 and if the 6 numbers on a ticket match the numbers drawn, the ticket holder is a jackpot succeeder - this is true regardless of the order in which the numbers are drawn. The odds of being the jackpot succeeder are approximately 1 in 14 1000000 (13,983,816 to be accurate). The derivation of this result (and other winning scores) is shown in the Lottery mathematics article. To put these odds in context, suppose one buys one lottery ticket per week. 13,983,816 weeks is roughly 269,000 years; In the quarter-1000000 years of play, one would expect to win the jackpot entirely once.

The odds of winning any actual lottery can vary widely depending on the lottery design of financial engineers. Mega Millions is a very popular multi-state lottery in the United States which is known for jackpots that grow very large from time to time. This attractive feature is made possible simply by designing the game to be extremely difficult to win: 1 chance in 175,711,536. That's over twelve times higher than the example above. Mega Millions player also pick six numbers, but 2 different "bags" are used. The first five numbers come from one bag that contains numbers from 1 to 56. The sixth number -- the "Mega Ball number" -- comes from the second bag, which contains numbers from 1 to 46. To win a Mega Millions jackpot, a player's five regular numbers must match the five regular numbers drawn and the Mega Ball number must match the Mega Ball number drawn. In other words, it is not good enough to pick 10, 18, 25, 33, 42 / 7 when the drawing is 7, 10, 25, 33, 42 / 18. Even though the player picked all the right numbers, the Mega Ball number at the end of the ticket doesn't match the one drawn, so the ticket would be credited with matching entirely 4 numbers (10, 25, 33, 42).

The SuperEnalotto of Italy is supposedly the most difficult where player try to match 6 numbers out of 90. The odds in making the jackpot: 1 in 622,614,630.

Most lotteries give lesser prizes for matching just some of the winning numbers. The Mega Millions game is an extreme case, giving a very small payout (US$2) even if a player matches entirely the Mega Ball number at the end of your ticket. Matching more numbers, the payout goes up. Although none of these additional prizes affect the chances of winning the jackpot, they do improve the odds of winning something and therefore add a little to the value of the ticket. In most lotteries, if a large amount of smaller prizes are awarded, the jackpot will be reduced, in a alike manner that the jackpot is divided if multiple player have tickets with all the winning numbers.

In the UK National Lottery the smallest prize is �10 for matching 3 balls. There exists a Wheeling Challenge to create the smallest set of tickets to cover enough combinations to ensure that any 6 numbers drawn will match against at least 3 numbers on at least one of the tickets. The current record is 163 tickets.

The expected value of lottery bet is often notably bad. In the United States, an expected value of 50% of the purchase price is common. For instance, when the player buys a lottery ticket for, say, $10 he obtains a financial asset with an expected value of entirely $5. Hence, buying a lottery ticket reduces the buyer's expected net worth. This is in contrast with financial securities like stocks and bonds whose prices are theoretically based on their expected real values, as expected by the markets at any given point in time.

In a famous occurrence, a Polish-Irish businessman named Stefan Klincewicz bought up almost all of the 1,947,792 combinations available on the Irish lottery. He and his associates paid less than one 1000000 Irish pounds while the jackpot stood at �1.7 1000000. There were 3 winning tickets, but with the "Match 4" and "Match 5" prizes, Klincewicz made a small profit overall.

Notable prizes
Prize Lottery Country Name Date Notes
$390m Mega Millions United States Won by one ticket holder from New Jersey and one from Georgia 6 March 2007 World's largest jackpot
$365m Powerball United States One ticket bought jointly by eight co-workers at a Nebraska meat processing plant 18 February 2006 World's largest single ticket succeeder
$363m The Big Game United States Two winning tickets: Larry and Nancy Ross (Michigan), Joe and Sue Kainz (Illinois) 9 May 2000 The Big Game is now named Mega Millions
�180m EuroMillions France(2), Portugal(1) Three ticket holders 3 February 2006 Europe's largest jackpot
�115m EuroMillions Ireland Dolores McNamara 29 July 2005 Europe's largest single succeeder and the world's largest single payout.
�71.8m SuperEnalotto Italy One ticket bought jointly by ten bar customers in Milan 4 May 2005 Largest Italian prize
�42m National Lottery United Kingdom Three ticket holders 6 January 1996 Largest UK prize
�35.4m EuroMillions UK Angela Kelly, 40, East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire 3 10 August 2007 Largest UK single succeeder
�37.6m National Lottery Germany Won by a nurse from North Rhine-Westphalia 7 October 2006 Largest German prize and single succeeder
�16.2 m National Lottery Ireland Paul and Helen Cunningham 28 July 2007 Biggest single succeeder and jackpot (Ireland)

Sources:
http://www.usamega.com/archive-052000.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4746057.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4676172.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4740982.stm
http://www.sisal.it/se/se_main/1,4136,se_Record_Default,00.html

On 20 September 2005 a primary school boy in Italy won �27.6 1000000 in the national lottery. Although children are not allowed to gamble under Italian law, children are allowed to play the lottery. 4

Payment of prizes

Winnings are not necessarily paid out in a lump sum, contrary to the expectation of many lottery participants. In certain countries, such as the USA, the succeeder gets to pick out between an annuity payment and a one-time payment. The one-time payment is much smaller, indeed often entirely half, of the advertised lottery jackpot, even before applying any withholding tax to which the prize may be subject. The annuity option provides regular payments over a period that may range from 10 to 40 years.

In some online lotteries, the annual payments can be as little as $25,000 over 40 years, with a balloon payment in the final year. This type of installment payment is often made through investment in government-backed securities. Online lotteries pay the winners through their insurance backup. Even so, many winners pick out to take the lump-sum payment, since they believe they can get a better rate of return on their investment elsewhere.

In some countries, lottery winnings are not subject to personal income tax, so there are no tax consequences to consider in choosing a payment option. In Canada, Australia, Ireland, and the United Kingdom all prizes are immediately paid out as one lump sum, tax-free to the succeeder.

In the United States, federal courts have consistently held that a lump sum payments received from third parties in exchange for the rights to lottery annuities are not capital assets for tax purpose. Rather, the lump sum is subject to ordinary income tax treatment.

Scams and frauds
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Lottery, like any form of gambling, is susceptible to fraud, despite the high degree of scrutiny claimed by the organizers. One method involved is to tamper with the machine used for the number selection. By rigging a machine, it is theoretically easy to win a lottery. This act is often done in connivance with an employee of the lottery firm. Methods used vary; loaded balls where select balls are made to pop-up making it either lighter or heavier than the rest. All balls should be independently verified for materials, size, pressure, susceptibility to magnetism, and other qualities.

The most infamous case of insider lottery fraud was in Maryland in 1979. The Maryland lottery determined its succeeder by an air blower, where 3 numbers would bubble up. By injecting fluid into every ball except those numbered 4 and 6, and then buying tickets with every combination of 4 and 6, lottery personnel guaranteed themselves big winnings. There was immediate suspicion that the game had been rigged and the balls were removed for examination. The announcer was arrested and confessed 2 days later.

In some US States, such as Kansas and Minnesota, losing lottery tickets can be mailed in for a raffle of special prizes. The trouble with that is that employees of stores that sell lottery tickets sometimes collect the lottery tickets that are thrown away and send them in. As a lottery official put it "The retailers have an unlimited supply of free tickets. You do not need to be an FBI agent to realize that is a tremendously unfair advantage." 5

Some advance fee fraud scams on the Internet are based on lotteries. The fraud starts with spam congratulating the recipient on their recent lottery win. The email explains that in order to release funds the email recipient must part with a certain amount (as tax/fees) as per the rules or risk forfeiture.

Another form of lottery scam involves the selling of "systems" which purport to improve a player's chances of selecting the winning numbers in a Lotto game. These scams are generally based on the buyer's (and perhaps the seller's) misunderstanding of probability and random numbers. Sale of these systems or software is legal, however, since they mention that the product cannot guarantee a win, let alone a jackpot.