the.com/raffle
organized hope where you pay to lose with a smile and a numbered stub
means A game of chance in which people buy numbered tickets, one of which is later drawn at random to win a prize.
from From Old French 'rafle,' the name of a dice game, which also meant a snatching up or sweeping away — possibly echoing the Germanic root behind 'raffeln,' to snatch greedily. The dice game faded, but the word kept rolling, landing on the modern lottery of numbered stubs and church-fete prizes.
- latin roots
- named after a medieval dice game called raffle
- church favorite
- funds steeples worldwide despite gambling being technically sinful
- the odds
- buying more tickets barely dents your near-certain loss
- prize curse
- winners often pay taxes exceeding the prize value
- raffle vs lottery
- fixed entrant pool guarantees somebody actually wins
irish national lottery — ireland's state lottery, established 1988, weekly draws with millions in prizes
powerball lottery — us multi-state lottery game started 1992, largest jackpot $2.04 billion in 2024
charity raffle at wimbledon — annual raffle by all england club, raises funds for grass court tennis globally