It could be you too!

ON this day in 1569, Queen Elizabeth I drew the world’s first state lottery on the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral in London.

She had been looking at ways to raise cash to bolster England’s ships, ports and harbours ready for war with Spain, and with the option of higher taxes deemed to be too unpopular, she had instigated the lottery which had a first prize of £5,000 (equivalent to many millions today) up for grabs.

Only the wealthy would have been able to buy tickets which cost a massive ten shillings but syndicates were formed so poorer people didn’t miss out entirely.

Another benefit of buying a ticket was that it made purchasers immune from arrest for any crimes, other than piracy, murder or treason.

Small lotteries were legalised in the 1970s but the biggest change came in 1994 with the launch of the National Lottery in the UK.

While it couldn’t offer immunity from arrest, it did, and still does, promise massive cash prizes paid as a tax-free lump sum. That first draw on November 19, 1994, saw seven jackpot winners sharing a prize of £5,874,778.

Declining ticket sales meant it was given a major rebranding in June 2002, with the main game being renamed Lotto.

Nineteen years after its launch, ticket prices were doubled to £2 from October 2013 with prizes restructured and bigger jackpots on offer.

Further changes have included Lotto Hotpicks, Thunderball and Set For Life draws plus EuroMillions and Scratchcards.

As well as creating millionaires and seeing a vast number of massive cheques and magnums of champagne being wasted as they are squirted into the air for photo opportunities, the National Lottery has raised about £35 billion for good causes throughout the country.

The Heritage Lottery Fund, which was set up by the Government in 1994, has given grants totalling approximately £4 billion to more than 26,000 projects which have included Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, the Buxton Crescent and Spa restoration and various heritage trails in the county.

If this has inspired you to go out and buy a ticket today, just bear in mind that the odds of winning the Lotto jackpot are one in 45,057,474, while the EuroMillions jackpot has an eye-watering one in 139,838,160 chance of you becoming filthy rich.

So while they say, “it could be you,” it probably won’t be. But then again, as you can see from this page of Derbyshire winners, never say never...

Co-op store manager Janet Hill at the lottery terminal in Leabrooks, near Somercotes, selling a ticket to customer Margaret Ashmore after Swanwick couple Rachel and Tony Bryan had recently come up trumps in 2006 Lucky Derby couple Rowena Barnwell and Richard Brewin, who are both accountants, were sitting pretty in 2016, after scooping £53,590.20 in the EuroMillions draw

Sarah Palmer, of Melbourne, a catering manager at Chellaston Technology College, scooped £82,397 on the National Lottery with a ticket bought at Budgens in Derby Road, Melbourne, in 2008 Lottery winner Kate Temple at Tesco in Mickleover to bless the National Lottery Terminal and bring good luck to customers ahead of a £100 million EuroMillions Rollover Jackpot in 2006. Kate won £2.2 million in June 2001 Miss Derby Coralee Matthews was hopping into the city to launch the new Rabbit Riches Scratchcard in 2009

Terry and Ann Bradbury, from Buxton, celebrating their £5,517,016 National Lottery win at The Rising Sun in Bamford, Derbyshire, in 2015 Derby South MP Margaret Beckett buys one of the first lottery tickets at Jordan & Fitch newsagents in November 1994

Remember when you stood to win thousands through Derby County’s own lottery at the Baseball Ground in the 1970s?