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With sales of approximately US$18.3 billion, or 14% of
worldwide annual lottery sales, draw games
remain an important part of the lottery industry. These games have the richest
history of any lottery product, dating back to Augustus Caesar, who first sold
them at parties and subsequently developed a public lottery to finance the
reconstruction of Rome.
The first public lottery to have paid money as
prizes is believed to be La Lotto de Firenze in Florence in 1530. This was such
a successful enterprise that the practice quickly spread to other Italian
cities. When the Italian nation was united, the first national lottery was
created in 1863, with regular (weekly) drawings organized for the purpose of
providing income for the state.
Queen Elizabeth I chartered a general
lottery in England in 1566 to raise money for repairing harbours and other
public purposes.
In 1612 the Virginia Company obtained permission from
James I for a lottery to help in financing the settlement of Jamestown in the
New World.
Draw games are considered passive games. Players do not choose
their numbers but rather each ticket is assigned a number before it is sold.
There have been numerous experiments in recent years to maintain player
interest in these games. Among these are hybrid draw-and-instant games (in
Canada, Japan and some Nordic countries) as well as attempts to make draw games
active with players choosing their numbers from a field (see El Gordo).
Draw games are fairly
universal, with the conspicuous exception of the United States. Draw games
remain most popular in countries without significant on-line networks or in
countries like Australia (see below) where they have a long history and are
firmly entrenched into the national psyche - Spain and its
Navidad game (the world's largest individual
lottery event) is the classic example.
SOURCE: The Whole World Lottery
Guide.
See
Passive Lottery Turnover
Pennsylvania
Lottery’s First-Ever Raffle Game is an Early Sell-Out; All 500,000
Millionaire Raffle Tickets Sold in Less Than Two Weeks
MIDDLETOWN, Pennsylvania, USA (December 5, 2005) -- Tickets for the
Pennsylvania Lottery’s groundbreaking Millionaire Raffle game have sold
out in less than two weeks.............................Read the full story at: Vol.33 No.11
Pennsylvania Lottery
Creates New Passive Year's Eve Game; First-ever Millionaire Raffle will Award
$5 Million in Cash Prizes New Year’s Eve; Limited Number Of Tickets Go On
Sale Nov. 22 For Dec. 31
MIDDLETOWN, Pennsylvania, USA
(November 18, 2005) -- Millionaire Raffle, a groundbreaking new game developed
by the Pennsylvania Lottery, will create four new millionaires on New
Year’s Eve....................................Read the full story at: Vol.33 No.9
NSWL's $2 Jackpot
Lottery Won at $10.55 Million by Farmer Facing Ruin
SYDNEY,
Australia (May 28, 2004) -- The jackpot prize in the $2 Jackpot Lottery was won
at $10.55 million in draw 8145 this morning, the second biggest jackpot win in
the game's 73 year history...........................Subscribers
Biggest Jackpot Lottery
Prize Won
SYDNEY, Australia (July 15, 2003) -- The
biggest-ever prize in NSW's $2 Jackpot lottery - a whopping $13.7 million - has
been won.....................Subscribers
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