The first recorded Italian lottery was held on January 9, 1449 in Milan to finance the war against the Republic of Venice.
Later, circa 1515, in Genoa, the names of Senators were drawn by change, five out of ninety candidates every six months, and this kind of gambling was called Lotto (“destiny”). It became very popular, and when the electorate wanted to place bets more frequently, they started to substitute the names of the candidates with numbers, and thus the modern lottery was born.