Thomas Doyle. Five Years in a Lottery Office; or, An Exposition of the Lottery System. Boston: S. N. Dickinson, 1841.
By the 1830s public opinion was mounting against lotteries. People objected not only to the lottery’s perceived deleterious effects on morals, but also to its very real economic consequences: where formerly people could purchase a lottery ticket only once or twice a year, now they could participate in several different lotteries each day. Tickets for lotteries promising the highest returns could cost as much as $20, often netting lottery agents a 20% profit on ticket sales. But because many were rigged, lotteries rarely paid out the large prizes they promised. By the early 1840s most states had put an end to the public lotteries, yet private lotteries continued to operate throughout the century. Five Years in a Lottery Office is the rare exposé that details the inner workings of lottery schemes down to their long odds of winning and profit margins for organizers.
Many lottery-like schemes emerged to replace public lotteries. Shady rackets, they offered players equally long odds to win luxurious goods in “prize drawings.” They are described in more detail in the Swindling section.
African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas Lottery ticket. [Philadelphia, 1805]. (McAllister Collection)
Grand State Lottery ticket. [Philadelphia, 1818].
New York Consolidated Lottery ticket. [New York, 1833].
