Lottery is actually a legal form of gambling in most jurisdictions which allows you to buy tickets with codes embedded in them, one of which would be a predetermined winning combination or to select a combination of numbers which could be the winning draw. The lottery system is outlawed in some jurisdictions which see it as nothing but another form of gambling while some others have set up state sponsored lottery. Almost all lotteries that exist in jurisdictions that allow it, either government sponsored or otherwise, have some form of regulatory authority to monitor their functioning and to ensure that they play by the rules.

Lotteries and other forms of gambling were illegal in the US in early part of the twentieth century and remained so until the 1960’s when they began to proliferate after being legalized. Lotteries began to be seen as a major source of revenue generation for the state by squeezing the public for money and are right up there in terms of profitability next to taxes.

The Ohio lottery commission was appointed in 1973 through a legislative amendment and the first tickets were sold in mid 1974 and since then it has developed into a massive money spinning enterprise. As of date there are many varieties of instant lottery games and online lotto’s that are offered to participants who wish to frivolously expend money in the hope of striking it rich. The money generated through the sales have been directed into many constructive public endeavors such as development of public education with the money expended on that front being 16 billion dollars since the inception of the lottery system in Ohio. The motto for Ohio state lottery itself is focused on the benefit that the whole enterprise delivers to the educational system in the state and their marketing slogan goes as “Take a chance on education. Odds are, you’ll have fun!”

The most popular variety of games that are incorporated includes the Pick 3 and Pick 4 drawings as well as the mega million weekly draw. In terms of the revenue and sales, the Ohio state lottery is ranked tenth among the state lotteries in the US. There are thousands of outlets all across the state that sell the lottery tickets and all the profits go into education and public school development which is an extremely commendable thing. The annual amount that is pumped into the education system in the state, thanks to the lottery is close to 700 million USD.

The instant games include a variety of card scratching games that last for a few months and are seasonal. Millions of tickets are sold for each game and are distributed via outlets set up across the state. Another popular variant is the Pick 3 and Pick 4 drawings that happen on a daily basis. The wagers can range from fifty cents to 6 USD. These drawing are broadcast real time throughout the state and the results are also available online.

The Mega Million lottery which is a multistage lottery with huge winnings and the Kicker, Ten-OH and Cash Explosion are other popular varieties of games conducted by the Ohio lottery. Keno is another popular variant as well.

By Terro White
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