Key Facts About the Lottery
History has a lot to do with the development of the lottery. The first recorded lottery was held in 1612 in England. King James I authorized it as a way to raise funds for a settlement in Jamestown, Virginia. Since then, lottery games have been used for public purposes by various states to fund projects such as bridges, schools, and roads. Throughout the centuries, the lottery has played a pivotal role in American society. Here are the key facts about the lottery.
The first known lotteries occurred in the Low Countries during the 17th century. These lotteries served two purposes: raising funds for the poor and for fortifications. They were very popular, and they were hailed as an easy and painless way to tax citizens. The oldest recorded lottery in the world dates from 1726 in the Netherlands. The Dutch word for lottery comes from the Dutch noun ‘lot’, which means “fate.”
The lottery became so popular in the United States that it spread throughout the southern and western states. In the 1980s, 17 states and the District of Columbia had lotteries. As the game grew in popularity, six more states joined. In the 1990s, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Oklahoma all joined the fray. And in the early 2000s, North Dakota and South Carolina became lotteries, too. These states now have more than one million registered lottery players.