The lottery is more than just buying a ticket, then waiting for the draw time to know whether or not you’ve won the jackpot. There’s a great story behind the lottery, filled with a rich and engaging culture. If you want to learn about some of the most interesting facts that make lottery games so intriguing, then this is just the article to find them.
If you’re a fan of lottery games, then you might find the following facts to be well worth the moment of your time:
1. The Average Lottery Winner Owns 4.5 Cars
Yes, you read that, right! An average lottery winner owns 4.5 cars for themselves or their family members and friends. Interestingly, over 10% of those lottery winners by more than 10.
2. Most People Spend More On Lotteries Than Other Types Of Entertainment
In 2014, Americans spent over $70.1 billion on lottery tickets alone, according to the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries. Comparing this to what we spent on books, sports tickets, video games, recorded music, and movie tickets – combined at that – which is $63 billion, that is a big deal indeed.
Related: Nigerians Can Play The World’s Largest Lotteries!
3. The First Lottery Ever
The oldest lottery in human history was the keno slips from ancient China that dated back from 201 to 187 BC. Those lotteries are what some assume helped finance huge construction projects like the Great Wall of China itself.
4. Biggest Unclaimed Lottery Prize
A EuroMillions ticket was sold to the United kingdom that was worth £63,837,543.60, thereby establishing a world record in the process. The date for the draw was back on the 8th of June 2012. This means that if anybody tries to claim the price as of now, it wouldn’t be any use to them as every National Lottery prize goes to the Good Causes funds.
5. Tipton Family Wins 3 Different Lottery Jackpots
To win a lottery jackpot from any big lotto draw, one would need to beat the odds, there are approximately 350 billion to one. However, one family from Tipton defied those odds by winning three different lottery jackpots that total around £3.25 million.
6. The Netherlands and Belgium Pioneered the Lottery
Although China may have been the one to come up with the idea of lotteries, it wasn’t until the 15th century when the first version of the game was introduced in the Netherlands and Belgium. At that time, cash prizes were handed out to those with winning tickets. Lecluse hosted the first-ever lottery in what would be Sluis today in 1445. at least 4,000 tickets were sold in this Lottery game to which winners would get a price worth 1,747 florins that would be equal to $170,000 today. Most of the proceeds were used to help fund projects for the poor and is now commonly practiced among other Lotto operators.
7. The Word ‘lottery’ Itself is Derived From Other Cultures
Before the word Lottery even came to be, the concept of winning cash prizes used to be referred to something else. As a matter of fact, the English word ‘lottery’ originated from the Dutch term ‘lot’ which translates to ‘fate’. The term ‘lotto’ originated from Italy as the first-ever post-Roman Empire lottery was held in Milan, Italy in 1449.
8. Most Popular Draw Ball
Number 38 is the most popular draw ball of all time. It has been drawn over 314 times ever since 1994.
9. A $17,500 Tip
A patron tipped a 25-year old bartender in Oregon, a pair of Keno tickets, and one of those tickets turned out to be worth $17,500. In the act of kindness, the bartender tried to return that money back to the patron, but the latter refused and insisted that the former keep it.
10. There’s Always a Winner With EuroMillions
EuroMillions offers better winning chances to ticket holders than any other lottery game in the world. The chances of winning a EuroMillions lottery game are 1 in 13. The luckiest numbers in the game are usually between 23 and 44, where the largest amount of money is paid.
11. 10 Second Prize Winners Were Awarded a Powerball Payout
On March 30th, 2005, over 110 second-prize winners were awarded a Powerball payout who had to split their jackpot worth of 19.4 million dollars. But that’s not all. Over 89 winners were each rewarded $100,000, and 21 were rewarded $500,000.This entire phenomenon is known as the “fortune cookie” payout.
12. Consecutive Winner
Wayne Elliott, who is from Deal, Kent, kept winning a lottery cash prize every week for the first 26 National Lottery draws.
13. Voltaire Found a Loophole in the French National Lottery
French writer Voltaire collaborated with a math magician by the name of Charles and Mary de la Condamine and figured out a loophole in the National Lottery of France. According to History.com, the French government at the time was shelling out enormous prizes for the lottery contest every month. However, a calculation error resulted in larger payout values than every ticket in circulation.
As a result, La Condamine, Voltaire, and a group of other gamblers managed to determine this loophole and were able to corner the market, which resulted in them walking out with winnings. Because of this, Voltaire had almost half a million francs, which allowed him to get really comfortable and put all of his efforts into writing.
14. Math Genius Wins the Lottery 4 Times
Another possible hint that mathematics can help increase one’s chances of winning the lottery is Stanford Professor Joan R. Ginther. Ginter won the lottery about four times despite the odds of doing so is about 1 in 18 septillions. Experts claim that this is because she probably cracked the lottery algorithm.
15. The Founding Fathers of the US Were Fans of the Lottery
It seems the founders of the United States themselves were fans of the popular lottery game itself. George Washington established a number of lotteries, despite never succeeding. Benjamin Franklin had a lottery to pay for a Philadelphian cannon. Thomas Jefferson had his own private lottery to pay off his debts. In 1776, numerous lotteries were established by the Continental Congress in order to fund the Colonial Army.
Conclusion
It just goes to show you that something that is as random as Lottery draws can have a huge history of fascinating influences and facts behind it. But that’s the thing about lottery games; you could be either the average lottery winner who owns 4.5 cars, a math genius, an ordinary bartender, or a US President. In other words, anyone can be a winner, and someday, it could even be you.
