When Italy was unified in 1530, the lottery known as Lo
Giuoco del Lotto d'Italia was born.
This weekly lottery has been held virtually every Saturday since
its inception.
By 1778 word of this game had spread to France and captured the
fancy of the intelligentsia. It was during this period that the popular version
of the lottery was born.
Cards were divided into three horizontal rows and nine vertical
columns.
Each horizontal row contained a total of nine squares - five
with numbers and four blank squares - arranged randomly in the row.
The vertical columns contained ten numbers each:
column one contained the numbers 1 - 10
column two contained 11 - 20
column three contained 21 - 30 and so on
until the ninth column, which contained the numbers 81 - 90.
Wooden chips with the numbers 1 - 90 were placed in a bag and
drawn out one at a time.
Each player had a unique lotto card and if the number called was
on their card they marked it off.
The first person to completely cover a horizontal row was the
winner.
In the 1800s the popularity of lottery games spread throughout
Europe. Education variations were created to aid children in learning their
multiplication tables, spelling and even history.
