Economic pressure on states in the 1980s have led a number in this country to market lotteries in an unprecedentedly aggressive manner. This book was inspired by the author's experience with the New Jersey state lottery during a period of major growth. Karcher examines lotteries from a historical, psychological, and philosophical perspective, offering a reflective and cogent explanation of their popularity. He looks at the fluctuating popularity of state-sponsored gambling and the consequent peaking and fattening of revenues, exposing the measures lottery commissions sometimes take in order to increase revenues.Self policed lottery commissions, he predicts, will resort to marketing abuses and increasingly prey upon the poor if they are given unbridled power to act. Karcher suggests thoughtful, easily implemented, and constructive reforms. As more state governments inevitably turn to lotteries as a way out of tax dilemmas, this book will contribute to the public discourse on this important policy issue.

Lotteries in Colonial America examines the role lotteries played in the economic life of the colonies, as an alternative form of raising revenue for public and private projects that was utilized from the founding of Jamestown to the financing of the American Revolution.

Society lotteries are intended to be primarily a means of raising money for charities and other good causes. The vast majority are small, often local, and raise sums of money that, though not substantial, are vital for the work of the organisations they support. The Gambling Act 2005 relaxed some of the restrictions on such lotteries. This was not a cause of concern until the recent launch of some larger, 'umbrella' lotteries, advertised nationally, run by commercial operations and giving close to the statutory minimum percentage of the proceeds of ticket sales to the good causes they supported. These are controversial in part because they are alleged to stretch the definition of a society lottery as primarily intended to raise money for good causes, and in part because they are seen by some as direct competitors to the National Lottery. As a result, there have been calls for restrictions to be imposed on large society lotteries, while others have suggested the success of the umbrella lotteries could be replicated elsewhere if regulations on society lotteries were relaxed. The Committee has been guided in its approach by the principle that the regulatory regime governing society lotteries should encourage the maximum return to good causes and, provided that the lottery remains focused on its primary purpose, the licensing regime should be light, including continued exemption from gambling and lottery taxes. Accordingly, the Committee recommends greater differentiation between the regulations applied to the great majority of lotteries, which are small and local, and those applied to larger ones, especially those run on behalf of the good causes by commercial organisations, which tend to return smaller proportions of their funds to the charity than single-cause lotteries.

Lotteries are widely used to decide places (seats) at schools, colleges and universities. Conall Boyle explores many examples to find out why. The emotional turmoil that the use of ballots can cause to students and parents alike is graphically described. But lottery selection teaches lessons too; now we can find proper answers to controversial questions like "Does choice work?" This book will be of interest to parents, pupils and teachers as well as educational administrators. Any student applying for admission to a university course should learn about the amazing weighted lottery for entry to medical schools in the Netherlands. There is a better way: it's a lottery!

Mathematics of Keno and Lotteries is an elementary treatment of the mathematics, primarily probability and simple combinatorics, involved in lotteries and keno. Keno has a long history as a high-advantage, high-payoff casino game, and state lottery games such as Powerball are mathematically similar. MKL also considers such lottery games as passive tickets, daily number drawings, and specialized games offered around the world. In addition, there is a section on financial mathematics that explains the connection between lump-sum lottery prizes (as with Powerball) and their multi-year annuity options. So-called "winning systems" for keno and lotteries are examined mathematically and their flaws identified.

Lotteries, Art Markets, and Visual Culture examines lotteries as devices for distributing images and art objects, and constructing their value in the former Low Countries. Alongside the fairs and before specialist auction sales were established, they were an atypical but popular and large-scale form of the art trade. As part of a growing entrepreneurial sensibility based on speculation and a sense of risk, they lay behind many innovations. This study looks at their actors, networks and strategies. It considers the objects at stake, their value, and the forms of visual communication intended to boost an appetite for ownership. Ultimately, it contemplates how the lottery culture impacted notions of Fortune and Vanitas in the visual arts.