If you really think about it, there are actually a remarkable range of life’s situations which are inherently risky. Nearly everything someone does is some type of gambling. Even with such mundane act of getting up and going to work, increases one’s chances speaking of being killed in a transportation accident. In face of today and everything you know about investing, be it in business, an asset class (stocks, bonds, real-estate, cash and commodities), or index fund, even in its most basic element, it really is nothing but “betting” that someday tomorrow is going to be better with pleasant expected returns on investment; or perhaps not. There is just one big risk you should avoid and that is the risk of doing nothing and not taking your chance.

Come to look-at it in face value, investing within any money market really is, legalized gambling, per se. You can look-at investing in terms of chart formation, or you put your hard earned money within the utilities anticipating when they are “due”, you cash in or again maybe not; or you decide to have any one of the hundreds of analysts culling spreadsheets or fund index investors work on the fundamentals of investing for you in manufacturing, real-estate, cash and commodities-no matter what your reasoning for that, if that is not gambling, then what is? Basically, you are betting that in 5, 10 or 15 years from now there will be more people, buying more stuff, utilizing more energy, dependent on more gadgets-with hope that you could cash in; or possibly not. You are basically “betting” on all of it.

So it is, with the lottery-a type of gambling with origins in Florence, Italy, where the very first lottery was held within the 16th Century, then called the Lotto de Firenze, and quickly adopted by other Italian metropolitan areas. It became a national lottery, but still known today as the Lotto in Italy, as also adopted and called in several other countries, such as the United States. The lottery, as a type of government-licensed gambling, involves drawing of lots for an assortment of winnings and for the massive jackpot prize. Gambling, like poker, blackjack, roulette, sports betting and racing, can involve skill or just chance alone; however the lottery isn’t going to require any special skills-set to play.

As with any risk, there is always something at stake. Even when you elect to take the risk of starting a business, you stand to lose money, time and your reputation. The same things you stand to gain when you take the possibility to start your own business. The lots you buy to play the lottery are today in the form of tickets as well as the prize is often a large sum of cash. The draws are random and every player has an equal chance of winning the key prize which often grows really big with massive roll over jackpots.