If you really consider it, you'll find a remarkable number of life's situations which are inherently risky. Nearly everything a person does is some form of gambling. Even with such mundane act of getting up and going to work, increases one's chances of being killed in a transportation accident. In face of today and everything you know about investing, whether it be 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 will probably be better with pleasant expected returns on investment; or perhaps not. There is only 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 in almost 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 once 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, determined by 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 type of gambling with origins in Florence, Italy, where the very first lottery was held in the 16th Century, then called the Lotto de Firenze, and quickly adopted by other Italian towns. It became a national lottery, and still known today as the Lotto in Italy, as also adopted and called in lots of other countries, including the United States. The lottery, as a form of government-licensed gambling, involves drawing of lots for a wide selection of winnings as well as for the massive jackpot prize. Gambling, like poker, blackjack, roulette, sports betting and racing, can involve skill or simply chance alone; but the lottery agent won't require any special skills-set to play.

As with any risk, there's 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 exact same things you stand to gain when you take the chance to start your own business. The lots you buy to play the lottery are today within the form of tickets and also the prize is usually a big sum of money. The draws are random and every player has an equal chance of winning the main prize which often grows really big with massive roll over jackpots.