Medieval history
First registered lotteries, offering tickets for sale with prizes in the form of money, were held in the Netherlands in 15 century. Public lotteries were held in different cities, to raise money for city fortifications and help the poor. City records of Ghent , Utrecht and Bruges indicate, that lotteries could be even older. Recording from 9 May 1445 of the year at L'Ecluse concerns fundraising for the construction of walls and city fortifications with a draw 4 304 tickets and the total prize fund 1737 florins (worth about 170 000 US dollars in 2014 year). IN 17 century it was common in the Netherlands to organize lotteries to raise money for the poor or to raise funds for all kinds of public needs. Lotteries proved to be very popular and were considered a painless form of taxation . State Dutch State лотерея State Lottery – the oldest lottery. The English word "lottery" comes from the Dutch noun "lot", meaning "destiny".
The first registered Italian lottery was held 9 january 1449 years in Milan, organized by the Golden Ambrosian Republic to finance the war against the Venetian Republic . Nonetheless, it was in genoa , what lotto became very popular. People used to bet on the names of the members of the Great Council, which were chosen randomly , five out of ninety candidates every six months. This type of gambling was called Lotto or Semenaiu . When people wanted to bet more often, than twice a year, they started replacing candidates' names with numbers, and the modern lotto was born, according to which, as modern legal lotteries, so illegal playing with numbers can trace their origin.
