Voyages and the first shares · 1100s–1600s
1569
England's first state lottery
Elizabeth I sells lottery tickets to pay for harbours, and the government learns how much people will pay for a long shot.
Chartered in 1567 and drawn at St Paul's Cathedral in 1569, England's first state lottery offered 400,000 tickets to raise money for repairing harbours, with prizes of cash, plate and tapestries. Sales fell far short, and many tickets went unsold.
Lotteries went on to fund roads, colleges and wars on both sides of the Atlantic. Governments keep a large share of every ticket, so on average buyers get back well under what they pay.
💡 Why it made sense then
A lottery raised money without a new tax: people volunteered to pay for the small chance of a big prize.
🎮 In Journey Shares
The gas station's scratch tickets pay back 63% to 66% of their price on average, in line with real lotteries.
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Practise with $10,000 in play money
Free. No real money involved.