Playing lottery is a two stage process. The first stage is easy - all you need to do is buy a lottery ticket. But the harder part is to remember to check the numbers at the right time

History of Lottery - a game for the ingenuous or ingenious?

The idea of the lottery is not simple. It is extraordinarily simple. The numbered cards are taken from the drum to determine the winners. The one, who has the card same to the drawn is considered the winner. The bet is the money paid for the ticket. When the game is over all tickets left are considered void and loose their potential value. The one who wanted to play a lottery game could do it the easiest way possible. He had to buy a ticket. The next hardest thing was to remember about it not to miss the draw and its results. Now it is even easier than before. Whenever you want to try a game of lottery you can do it online, for instance on ozlotteries.com.

Lottery regulations are hardly complicated - you buy a ticket and you wait for the draw. If your ticket wins you get the prize. Sometimes though the lottery is tied to some specific events, derby or racing for example. The number of winning tickets then corresponds to the number of rivals in the event. The other tickets are void. The maximum prize gets the winner of the race. The maximum prize among the lottery players goes to the ticket corresponding to the winner. The rest is split in accordance to the places taken by other rivals. Usually there is also some sort of a small present for those, whose tickets became void.

When you buy the lottery ticket you must consider the following if you want to estimate your chances of winning:

What is the main difference of the lottery from other similar draws and totalizators? It is the number or the amount of winnings. The lottery has set amount of winnings determined before had. It does not depend on the number of tickets sold. The prize is set vice versa in similar draws and totalizators. The number of tickets sold determines the prize pool.

When the draw is over and the happy owners of the lucky tickets get their prizes much is still left. The lottery is an extremely profitable business: sometimes no more than 40% of collections is spent on winnings. Usually the rest is used to cover the cost of the draw and for charity needs. This is usually stipulated before the draw and if you want not only to win, but to donate to charity while gambling you can try.

Actually, the first lottery with the set number of tickets and pre-determined prizes was charitable: earned money where spent to help poor people. The draw took place at Brugge on 24 February 1466. The widow of the famous Flemish canvas master Ian Van-Acke organized it.

The first public lottery with money prizes, Lotto de Firenze, took place in Florence in 1530. The first lottery tied to a specific event took place at 1620. But it was no sport. It was about elections. The Council of Genoa had to elect 5 new members. The inhabitants of the city were allowed to make their bets on five people by drawing five tickets with names from the urns, containing 90 different items.

The first state-run lottery is reported to be held in ancient China. It became extremely popular and through constant draws collected enough resources to build the Great Wall of China. Starting 17 century, state-run lotteries appear in Europe. The game became ever popular and remains so nowadays. The secret is simple as a lottery itself. You can make a very small bet and win extremely high prize. Rare casino jackpots can match such lotteries as: Retired cleaning woman wins $294m lottery jackpot, 6/49 health risks: heart attack of lottery big winner, Canadian woman wins $10m lottery, First Euro-Lottery produces $19 mln win.

You are hot when you win big.

So, go buy a ticket - you can make a fortune.