The first UK national lottery was held in 1569 but ticket prices made it elitist
ON this day in history, the UK held its first national lottery.
Although the modern National Lottery was launched on 19th November 1994, this wasn’t the first time that the UK had held a lottery.
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In 1567, Queen Elizabeth I desperately needed to raise money in order to strengthen and modernise England’s harbours and coastal defences.
In need of a quick solution, the queen was faced with either increasing taxes or encouraging a form of voluntary tax, such as hosting a lottery.
With tax increases eternally an unpopular option, the queen opted for the latter.
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Whilst the concept of a lottery was nothing new, the United Kingdom had never held such an event on a national scale before.
The lottery was limited to 400,000 tickets, with each ticket costing 10 shillings.
This equated to about nine weeks’ wages for the average labour at the time.
With many put off by or unable to afford the steep price, only 10% of the tickets were sold.
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For those able to afford the tickets, they had the chance to win life-changing prizes.
The top prize was £5,000 worth of goods. According to the Bank of England inflation calculator, that’s approximately £2.2 million today.
Included in the prize was £3,000 in cash and £2,000 worth of plates, tapestries and good linen cloth.
It is suspected that the tangible prizes were castoffs from the royal household.
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There were 11 prizes in total, ranging from the top prize to a prize worth £250.
Even those who didn’t win still walked away with something – a get out of jail free card.
Everyone who bought a ticket could claim immunity for the next seven days from one arrest, provided the crime was not murder, a felony, piracy or treason.
Controversially, the top prize amount was reduced before the draw could take place due to the lacklustre ticket sales.
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On 11th January 1569, the lottery draw was finally held outside the west wing of the original St Paul’s Cathedral (which would later burn down in the Great Fire of London before being rebuilt on the same site).
Each lottery entry consisted of a piece of paper upon which entrees would write their name, contact information and even a little unique phrase, such as a Bible quote, prayer or reason why they were a worthy winner.
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About the author
Katrina Vasey - Bingo Editor, The Sun
After graduating from Southampton University with a degree in English Literature, Katrina Vasey worked as a Content Editor for Law Business Research’s publication the International Law Office. Katrina joined The Sun in 2022 as the Bingo Editor, covering the four gaming platforms: Sun Bingo, Fabulous Bingo, Sun Vegas and Fabulous Vegas.