If you really consider it, you can find a remarkable number of life's situations which are inherently risky. Nearly everything a person does is some type of gambling. Even with such mundane act of getting up and going to work, increases one's probability of being killed in a transportation accident. In face of today and everything you know about investing, whether it is in business, an asset class (stocks, bonds, real-estate, cash and commodities), or index fund, even in its most basic element, it is nothing but "betting" that someday tomorrow will probably be better with pleasant expected returns on investment; or even not. There is only one big risk you should avoid and that's the risk of doing nothing and not taking your chance.

Come to look-at it in face value, investing in almost any money market really is, legalized gambling, per se. You may look-at investing with regards to chart formation, or you put your money in the utilities anticipating when they are "due", you cash in or again maybe not; or you decide to have any among 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 lots of individuals, buying more stuff, utilizing more energy, dependent on more gadgets-with hope you could cash in; or perhaps not. You are basically "betting" on all of it.

So it is, with the lottery-a form 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 cities. It became a national lottery, but still known today as the Lotto in Italy, as also adopted and called in many other countries, such as the USA. The lottery, as a form of government-licensed gambling, involves drawing of lots for an assortment of winnings and then for the massive jackpot prize. Gambling, like poker, blackjack, roulette, sports betting and racing, can involve skill or just chance alone; however the lottery does not require any special skills-set to play.

As with any risk, there is always something at stake. Even if you decide to take the risk of starting a business, you stand to lose money, time as well as your reputation. The exact same things you stand to gain whenever you take the chance to start your own business. The lots you buy to play the lottery agent are today in the form of tickets and the prize is often a large sum of money. 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.