Of Lots and Lotteries

The origin of ‘lot’ comes from the Teutonic hleut, which referred to a pebble cast to make a decision during disputes or for dividing property. It may also have come from the Italian word lotteria, which pertained to one’s destiny or fate.

The drawing or casting of lots was often used in biblical references for everything from choosing a sacrificial goat (or even person) to picking someone to fill a position. The priesthood would often use lots for determining the decisions of God. As well, either god-directed or human divisions of land were decided by lots. The lots themselves could be straw, bones, sticks or stones. Religions from Islam to North American Indians used lots to determine one’s destiny.

During the 16th century in Genoa five people of the 90 citizens were chosen by lots for members of the senate. People began to place bets, choosing which five they thought would be picked. The person with the closest number of right guesses won the lottery. Florence held the first lottery that awarded cash prizes in 1530 to raise money for public works. Called La Lotto de Firenze, it also was a number lottery. Venice then formed the first government monopoly, with Florence, Milan, Rome and Turin following suit.

At the same time, Lo Giuoco del Lotto d’Italia began. A form of bingo, it had numbers laid on a grid. Lotteria Italia is played today around October-November and is based on this game of centuries past. From the time of the Roman Empire to the 21st century, Italy has loved its games of chance.

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El Gordo de la Primitiva

Spain’s state lottery commission, the Loterías y Apuestas del Estado runs many legitimate lotteries. The world’s biggest and most famous is the Sorteo de Navidad, nicknamed El Gordo. However, this should not be confused with El Gordo de la Primitiva, another famous Spanish lottery.

Although not as big as the Sorteo, it has many large cash payouts and is drawn every Sunday. El Gordo means the fat one and many Spanish lotteries will have a fat one or a big cash prize. El Gordo de la Primitiva tickets have two sets of numbers on a grid. A ticket buyer must pick five numbers from the first grid which number 1-54, and then one number from the second, which numbers from 1-9.

Spain loves its lotteries and the tickets can be purchased at any of eleven thousand locations. Each ticket costs €1.50. Some of the other national lotteries are La Loteria Nacional played every Thursday and Saturday; the Bonoloto, drawn every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; and la Primitiva, which is drawn every Thursday and Saturday.

Anyone can enter a Spanish lottery but the only restriction is that your winnings must stay in Spain or you will pay taxes upon entering another country. These lotteries are endorsed by the government but if they’re run by other than Loterías y Apuestas del Estado they may be scams.

 El Gordo de la Primitiva http://onlae.terra.es/loterias.htm If googled, hit the translate button first for English.

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El Gordo Scams

Many scams play off of the Spanish El Gordo name and the buyer’s relative ignorance of the difference from one el gordo to the next. The names may be similar to, but not the exact same as El Gordo de la Primitiva. Some of the names used have been La Primitiva, El-Mundo de la Primitiva, International Lottery de la Primitiva, El Gordo La Primitiva International, Loteria La Primitiva and Primitiva Award Notice.

One rather well-known scam is called El Gordo de la Primitiva Lottery International Promotions Programmes. Like other scam lotteries, this one sends email letters and a payment processing or registration form. The person may be told that their ticket was randomly selected by a computer and was sponsored by some company. In order to claim the prize, the victim is then asked for bank account details, and to contact someone in their claims or award department. Once the transfer of ‘winnings’ begins, the company will then start charging handling and processing fees, taxes, insurance, administrative costs, etc. The ‘winner’ will be asked to send money by wire transfer to supposed lawyers, bank executives or others in the company. All these ‘processes’ will slow down the receipt of the supposed prize while the victim pays out hundreds and sometimes thousands to the company. In the end, they’ll never see the prize, which didn’t exist to begin with.

It’s Important to know the types of lottery that Spain runs nationally and if they’re not run by the Loterías y Apuestas del Estado, then chances are the lottery is illegal or a scam. There are a few other legal lotteries not run by the Loterías, such as the Spanish National Blind Organisation (ONCE) but they are still approved of and tickets sold in legal kiosks. Spain’s national lottery never sends out emails notifiying you of winning. Any company that contacts you and says you’ve won a prize you don’t remember entering is probably a scam company. Addresses on letters should be checked to prove they’re correct and owned by the company listed. Mobile numbers in Spain begin with a 6 and no lottery ticket office will have one. Landlines begin with 95. Always be aware of  potential scams!

El Gordo de la Primitiva http://onlae.terra.es/loterias.htm if googled, hit translate first
http://www.idealspain.com/pages/Information/lottery.htm

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The World’s Largest Lottery

Spain hosts the largest lottery in the world with an average payout of over €2 billion. It is also one of the oldest running, continuous lotteries, drawn every year since 1812.  Nicknamed El Gordo, which means the fat one, its official name is Sorteo de Navidad (the Christmas Lottery). However, many different lotteries will have a Gordo in them as this just indicates the top prize or the first prize. This can cause confusion and lead to scams where people think they’re entering a particular lottery.

The Sorteo de Navidad has many prize payouts and the top prize varies from year to year but never under €2 billion. The ticket system is somewhat complicated but is based on drawing a five-digit number. However a ticket, called a billete, runs about €200 and is sold in smaller amounts called a décimo, or a tenth of a ticket for €20. Various lottery outlets might only sell one or two numbers in a series. Series of the same number are also sold, so it’s possible for a group or even a town to have all the top winning numbers. In 2005, 1,700 first prize tickets were sold in the town of Vic, near Barcelona. The winners shared about €500 million, with each décimo being worth €300,000.

The Sorteo’s numbers have been called the same way since its inception in 1812. Two spheres are brought out. One contains tens of thousands of wooden balls with all the ticket numbers on them. The other sphere holds balls with the prizes. School students from Madrid pick the numbers and sing the results. The process takes about three hours for all the prizes and the draw always happens just before Christmas

The Sorteo de Navidad is sometimes confused with El Gordo de la Primativa. Both lotteries are organized by Spain’s National Lottery organization Loterias y Apuestas del Estado  but having nothing else in common.

It’s important to note that a lottery will never contact you if you’ve won. For one, you buy a numbered ticket and they do not have your name. And two, lotteries expect you to check your numbers and contact them if you’ve won. Because of its worldwide fame for large prizes, there have been many email scams using El Gordo. In a lottery, if you haven’t bought a ticket, you cannot be a winner. And remember, you never have to pay any money in order to claim a legitimate prize.

http://navidadlae.terra.es/t_lae/home/home.aspx  (in Spanish) Or you can google Sorteo de Navidad and then click on “English translation,” if you can’t read Spanish.

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You May Already be a Winner

You may see this phrase from time to time on a brochure that has been mailed to you. In the case of International Awards Treasury Sweepstakes, this may be true.

Anyone who receives a mailing can enter the sweepstakes draw. But you must enter to win, mailing back the appropriate form. All forms are preprinted with a unique sweepstakes number. If there are a million forms, there are a million different numbers.

Before the forms are printed all the numbers are given to our lawyers, who then randomly select one number and put that securely away until the draw date. In this way, if number 26 was drawn and secured, and you received an entry form with the number 26 on it, then you could already be a winner. No one knows before the draw date and you would have to return your entry, to register in order to receive the prize.

Should number 26 be drawn and no one returned an entry form with that number, then the lawyers would randomly select another number from all returned entries and that person would be awarded the prize. Sometimes people reject the prize, believing that there is a catch. There is none as these sweepstakes must adhere to strict laws and government regulations. Our lawyers will continue to draw a number until a winner accepts the prize. But you can’t win if you don’t enter.

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A Fictional Story About a Lottery

Stories throughout time have covered many topics including lotteries or sweepstakes. Often they’re about someone losing, staking everything on that one chance. But one of the more famous stories of the last century was Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Lottery’, published in The New Yorker‘s June 1948 issue.

At the time, the story gained notoriety, with people cancelling their subscriptions and sending hate mail to the author. Written post-WWII it seems many towns at the time held cash-prize lotteries to stimulate spending. It’s not indicated whether it was a free draw or if everyone bought a ticket for a set price (the more common form of lottery), and then one person’s name would be drawn.

The difference with Jackson’s story was that the town gathered for the lottery about once a year. Old Man Warner in the story says he’s 77 and been in 77 lotteries. But no one pays to enter this lottery. They only pay when they win. Slowly it is revealed that the men draw lots and if they end up with the black dot, their family members all draw again. The one with the black dot ‘wins’.

In this case, winning is losing. The winner ‘pays’ with his/her life as the rest of the villagers stone them to death. We never learn why except that it has always been done this way. An older villager says that next, people will be back living in caves if the lottery is stopped. It’s seen as a form of civilization, perhaps a sacrifice for all the good things the people have.

“The Lottery” gained much attention throughout the years, being banned in some North American schools, and in later years being the subject of many essays and discussion in classrooms.

Thankfully lotteries are not held in this style. Cash lotteries continue, with people buying tickets to win. Sweepstakes also continue, where entry is free to the contest. Jackson’s story is still worth a read, even some 60 years later.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lottery

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Lottery or Sweepstakes: What’s the Difference?

Often there is confusion as to the difference between a lottery and a sweepstakes. Both involve people entering a draw, and a winner, or winners. In either case a predetermined draw date and time lets you know when the winner has been selected.

A lottery can be government or privately sponsored. A person buys tickets for a chance to win a prize, usually cash. Sometimes the prize may be for something else; i.e., a home or a vacation package. The prize might be given to one winner or spread through several, depending on the style of the lottery. The variety of tickets and the picking of the winner is unlimited. Some countries have provincial or state lotteries, or even a federal agency that sponsors a country-wide lottery. You might choose a set of numbers in a randomly selected draw, or ‘instant-win’ style tickets, where you match up a certain number of prize symbols or denominations to claim a prize.

A sweepstakes is considered a contest in which a prize goes to one winner, though there may also be supplemental second and third place prizes. It can be cash, a trip or an item. Sweepstakes are often used by private foundations to raise money for their works, or by companies for gathering information, promoting new products or increasing awareness. The cost you pay is only for buying the product. Buying promotional items in any sweepstakes does not increase your chance of winning. No purchase of a sweepstakes ticket is allowed or required, and often a ‘one entry per person’ rule is in place.

Although the dictionary sometimes defines a sweepstakes as a type of lottery, there are strict government compliance regulations that must be followed. International Awards Treasury adheres to these rules and if you live in a country where the sweepstakes is allowed to run, then you may enter. Sweepstakes entry is always free and the winner is required to answer a skill-testing question, therefore making sweepstakes not just a game of chance but a game of skill. Be sure to read the rules and regulations when you enter a sweepstakes. You may already be a winner if your number is the one pre-selected.

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