In the 18th century, lotteries were well under way in America, primarily to fund some venture or as a way out of debt. The first began in Massachusetts in 1744 because of military debts. The first national sweepstake was started by the Continental Congress in 1776 to raise funds for the American Revolution. The Founding Fathers were concerned not so much with how to win the lottery but with how to raise funds using lotteries. Many of the Founding Fathers played and sponsored those sweepstakes: Benjamin Franklin used lotteries to finance cannons for the Revolutionary War; George Washington financed construction of the Mountain Road, which opened expansion West of Virginia, by operating a lottery; Thomas Jefferson, who was immensely in debt at the end of his life, used a lottery to dispose of most of his property ( winning this lottery would have given you a priceless piece of American heritage); John Hancock operated a lottery to finance the rebuild of historic Faneuil Hall in Boston. In addition, public lotteries helped build several American universities, including Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Princeton, Brown and Dartmouth. Winning these lotteries was a major contribution to the future of American education. It is clear; it is the ‘ abc’. The history of the United States and lotteries are indelibly connected. The Virginia Company in London held private lotteries to fund the early settlement at Jamestown Virginia. In 1612 King James the First granted the Virginia Company the right to hold private lotteries. Later on lotteries played an important part in the development of Colonial America. Princeton and Columbia universities were financed by sweepstakes as was the University of Pennsylvania. During the Revolutionary War the Continental Congress established lotteries top fund the Continental Army. Later on the United States forgot its lottery heritage and banned lotteries and by 1900 lotteries had disappeared from the American scene.

The ban on lotteries spawned a new criminal enterprise known as the ‘numbers game’. Most numbers games were very similar to current pick 3, pick 4 and pick 5 games offered by most state sweepstakes. In the 1960`s New Hampshire became the first state in modern times to sell lottery tickets. Since then 43 states, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico have established lotteries. Lottery retailers are able to offer ‘quick pick’ options where numbers are selected by a random number generator. The addition of mega jackpot multi state lotteries like Powerball and mega Millions set new records for lottery ticket sales. In 1930 Irish Sweepstakes were launched and met with great success in the American and Canadian markets because of the abolition of lotteries in these countries. It wasn’t until 1964 that lotteries began to re-emerge in the United States. The introduction of a state lottery in New Hampshire in 1964 established the model for modern public lotteries in the United States. 1973 was a landmark year for the lottery, as technological innovation enabled the introduction of the first secure instant lottery ticket. Gradually lottery became more accessible and increasingly popular. In 1989 South Dakota became the first American state to license and regulate video lottery games. By 1999, there were more than 100 foreign lotteries operating in the United States.

Today thanks to online lottery, the best sweepstakes and lottery games can be played from the comfort of one’s home. Playhugelottos.com is the World’s most trusted and secure lottery ticket purchasing service dedicated to purchasing EuroMillions, UK Lottery, PowerBall and MegaMillions lottery tickets and transferring the winnings anywhere in the World at the winner’s request. Tickets can be purchased online via credit card. Winnings can be paid in any major currency, into any international bank account. That is the ‘ abc’ of the story.