If you really think about it, there are actually an extraordinary 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’s nothing but “betting” that someday tomorrow is going to be better with pleasant expected returns on investment; or perhaps 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 any money market really is, legalized gambling, per se. You may look at investing in terms of chart formation, or you put your hard earned money in the utilities anticipating when they are “due”, you cash in or again maybe not; or you choose to have any one of 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’s not gambling, then what is? Basically, you are betting that in 5, 10 or my sources 15 years from now there will be lots of individuals, buying more stuff, utilizing more energy, dependent on more gadgets-with hope that you could cash in; or perhaps not. You are basically “betting” on all of it.
So it really is, with the lottery-a type 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 metropolitan areas. It became a national lottery, but still known today as the Lotto in Italy, as also adopted and called in many 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 and then for the massive jackpot prize. Gambling, like poker, blackjack, roulette, sports betting and racing, can involve skill or simply chance alone; although the lottery isn’t going to require any special skills-set to play.
As with any risk, there is always something at stake. Even if you choose to take the risk of starting a business, you stand to lose money, time as well as your reputation. The same things you stand to gain when you take the possibility to start your own business. The lots you buy to play the lottery are today in the form of tickets and also the prize is usually a sizable sum of cash. The draws are random and every player has an equal chance of winning the major prize which often grows really big with massive roll over jackpots.
