08-17-2017, 12:37 AM
A lottery is a form of legalised government gambling that involves drawing lots for a prize. Lotteries are proscribed by some governments, while others endorse it to the point of organising a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of regulation of the lottery by governments; The most common regulation is the prohibition of selling to minors. Although lotteries were common in the United States and other countries during the nineteenth century, at the beginning of the twentieth century, most forms of gambling, including lotteries and sweepstakes, were illegal in the United States and most of Europe , As well as in many other countries. This remained so until well after World War II. In the 1960s casinos and lotteries began to reappear around the world as a means for governments to increase their incomes without raising taxes.
Lotteries come in many formats. For example, the prize may be a fixed amount of cash or property. In this format there is risk for the organiser if enough tickets are sold. More commonly, the prize fund will be a fixed percentage of revenue. A popular form of this is the "50-50" draw where the organisers promise that the prize will be 50% of the income. [Citation needed] Many recent lotteries allow buyers to select numbers on the lottery ticket, resulting in the possibility of multiple winners.
The purchase of lottery tickets can not be accounted for by decision models based on the maximisation of expected value. The reason is that lottery tickets cost more than the expected profit, as demonstrated by lottery math, so someone who maximises expected value should not buy lottery tickets. However, lottery purchases can be explained by decision models based on the maximisation of expected utility, since the curvature of the utility function can be adjusted to capture risk-seeking behaviour. More general models based on utility functions defined in things other than lottery results may also explain the purchase of the lottery. In addition to lottery prizes, the ticket can allow some buyers to experience an excitement and enjoy a fantasy of getting rich. If the entertainment value (or other non-monetary value) obtained by playing is high enough for a given individual, then buying a lottery ticket could represent a profit in total profit. In such a case, the dis-utility of a monetary loss could be offset by the expected combined profit of monetary and non-monetary gain, thus making the purchase a rational decision for that person.
Classical history
The first recorded signs of a lottery are keno slips of the Chinese Han Dynasty between 205 and 187 BC. It is believed that these lotteries have helped finance major government projects such as the Great Wall of China. From the Chinese "The Book of Songs" (II millennium BC) comes a reference to a game of chance as "the drawing of wood", which in the context seems to describe the draw.Since Celtic times, Cornish words "teulel pren" translates to "pulling wood" and means "draw lots".Homer's Iliad refers to batches that are placed on the hull of Agamemnon to determine who would fight Hector.
The first European lotteries took place during the Roman Empire, mainly as fun at parties. Each guest would receive a ticket, and prizes would often consist of luxury items such as tableware. Every ticket holder would be sure to win something. This type of lottery, however, was nothing more than the distribution of gifts by wealthy nobles during the saturnine festivals. The first records of a lottery that offers tickets for sale is the lottery organised by the Roman emperor Augustus Caesar. The funds were for repairs in the city of Rome, and the winners received prizes in the form of items of uneven value.
Probability of winning
The chances of winning a lottery prize can vary widely depending on the design of the lottery, and are determined by several factors, including counting possible numbers, number of winning numbers drawn, if the order is significant or if the numbers drawn are Returned For the possibility of additional drawing.
In a single 6 of 49 lottery, a player chooses six numbers from 1 to 49 (no duplicates allowed). If the six player ticket numbers match those produced in the official draw (regardless of the order in which the numbers are drawn), then the player is a jackpot winner. For such a lottery, the chance to be a jackpot winner is 1 at 13,983,816.
In bonus-ball lotteries where the bonus ball is mandatory, the odds are often even lower. In the Mega Millions multi-state lottery in the United States, 5 numbers are taken from a group of 75 and a number is drawn from a group of 15, and a player must match the 6 balls to win the jackpot. The probability of winning the pot is 1 in 258.890.850.The odds of winning can also be reduced by increasing the group from which the numbers are drawn. In the SuperEnalotto of Italy, the players must equal 6 numbers of 90. The possibility of winning the boat is of 1 in 622,614,630.
Most lotteries give smaller prizes to match just a few of the winning numbers. The game Mega Millions gives a prize (US $ 1) if a player matches only the bonus ball. The weekly 6/49 lottery operated by the ILLF [citation needed] offers a two-ball cash prize, for which the odds are 1 in 6.63. In the UK National Lottery the smallest prize is 25 to match three balls. Recently, the organisers have changed the rules and offer GBP 2 to match 2 numbers.
By equalling more numbers, the payment goes up. Although none of these additional prizes affect the odds of winning the pot, they improve the odds of winning something and therefore add a bit to the value of the jackpot. On the other hand, the smaller multiple prizes usually mean the smaller packages. It is common for the pot to split evenly if several players have innings with all winning numbers.