Lotteries have a long history. Everyone knows what it is and many people have played along. The first version of what we now recognize as a lottery originated in Roman times when the emperor handed out notes on holidays with which you could win grain, oil, and money. Later, a variant of the game was also created in China, specifically intended to raise money for the construction of the Great Wall of China.
First lottery in Sluis
But references to lotteries can be found in other ancient writings and civilizations as well. For example, sources have been found during the reign of Emperor Augustus show that lottery tickets were sold to pay for repairs for the city of Rome; In 1434, the first registered public lottery in the Netherlands took place in Sluis.
Lotteries in the Netherlands
Today we play lotteries for fun. It’s something we do for fun. There are several lotteries that you can play in that all work about the same but are slightly different. Some work by zip code, others with a code, but with all lotteries as a player you have a chance of winning a nice prize. What are the best lotteries in the Netherlands? We have listed that for you below.
State lottery
The Staatsloterij is a great choice for those who want to play a lottery. You have the greatest winning chances here, to be precise from 1 to 1.8. That equates to a payout percentage of approximately 70% of the money invested. Every month there are more than 4.3 million prizes. The state lottery was also in the news last year because of the so-called make-up draw. As the name implies, this special draw was organized to accommodate players.
Make-up draw
The prize pool of the make-up draw was a sloppy $13.5 million, tax-free as players of the Staatsloterij are used to. The compensation draw, sometimes referred to as the ‘special draw’ of the State Lottery, was initiated in response to misleading texts allegedly used by the lottery in the period 2000 to 2007. It concerned communication about high prizes. All players were allowed to participate, without paying, but on the other hand, they would waive legal proceedings. The lottery tickets sold like hotcakes.
Treks
State lottery prizes are tax-free. The draw takes place every tenth of the month, the results of which are announced at ten o’clock in the evening. You can consult the results in various ways, such as via the internet, Teletext page 550, by telephone, in the Telegraaf, or at the points of sale. There are also four other draws taking place, namely:
- The New Year’s Eve
- The Queen’s Day trekking
- The Orange Trek
- The Lucky Draw
That equates to 16 draws per year. If you win the prize, you can collect the amount up to €600 at the point of sale, higher amounts will be transferred. Prizes over $10,100 can only be collected at the head office of the Staatsloterij.
Postcode lottery
The Postcode lottery is also one that we have all heard of, and certainly a lottery that we can recommend. Hundreds of thousands of prizes are awarded monthly to the players of this lottery. The nice thing about this lottery is that you can win not only cash prizes but also other prizes. Then you have to think of cars, bicycles and hotel packages.
Lottery number
As the name already gives away, the prizes fall on postcodes in the Postcode lottery. This means that your lottery number is the same as your zip code. In most cases, several people live in the same zip code. That is why the Lottery has added three numbers to each ticket to create a unique code. You can also buy a separate ticket at this lottery
Lotto
Everyone has heard of the Lotto. It is the third lottery we discuss because it belongs on the list of good lotteries. When you play the Lotto you have a chance to win the Jackpot of $ 7,500,000 every week.
Treks
Lotto draws always take place at the weekend, on Saturdays. The result will then be announced on television. You can always pick up prizes won at the point of sale where you bought the ticket. But that only applies to prices up to and including $50.
Lottery number
Some outlets also pay higher amounts, but it is useful to check that per store. For prizes from $51 to $5,000, you must send the entry form to Stichting De Nationale Sporttotalizer. The nice thing about the Lotto is that you can determine your own lottery number. For example, you can choose your lucky number. A single ticket will cost you $2.
Which lottery is right for you?
You can now also play online in the various lotteries. So you no longer have to go to a point of sale to buy lottery tickets, although you still can. Which lottery you choose can depend on several things. You have already read above that the different lotteries work broadly the same, with small differences in how the lottery numbers are determined, the dates of the draws, and the results.
Personal choice
Which lottery is best for you to play is therefore largely a personal choice. We often see that a certain lottery was played within families from time immemorial. This made it a tradition to buy a lottery ticket every month. Often there is also an emotional value that comes into play when choosing the lottery. Playing a lottery is easy and gives many people the feeling that anything is still possible, because who knows, maybe the prize will fall on their lottery number or zip code. Whatever you choose. Playing a lottery is always a nice extra for people who like to gamble.