Major landmarks that were built with lottery money

When you’re taking in the sights of the world or even just of Britain and taking your photo in, on or against some of its greatest landmarks, you don’t often think about how they got there. You just want a good photo to upload to Instagram, Facebook or other social media platforms and then to carry on soaking up the delights of your location.

What you may not realise is that governments sometimes use lottery money to build landmarks or to help maintain them and to fund other public projects. Some might say it was the original form of crowdfunding before crowdfunding itself became what it is today. This article looks at some of the landmarks in the world that have benefited from lottery funding, plus some games people who have no luck playing the lottery may wish to play instead.

Trying your luck elsewhere

Some people don’t have any luck. They play the lottery every week just like others go to church every Sunday, but their numbers never come up. That’s just the way it is, but they can take some consolation in the fact that their government is investing in places that have become tourist attractions. If you’re one of those people who’s feeling a little hard done by and think the lottery is no longer for you, you may decide to try you luck elsewhere.

Rainbow Riches

Rainbow Riches is a popular online slot with five reels, three rows and twenty paylines. It’s been around since the mid-2000s, when it was launched by SG Gaming, and has spawned several different Rainbow Riches games. A strong Irish theme runs throughout the game. For instance, leprechauns feature as wilds. The game was popular as a fruit machine game long before it became an online slot, though. The online version game maintains its classic feel with traditional symbols such as jacks, kings and queens on its reels.

The luck of the Irish? Many play Rainbow Riches due to the Irish theme running throughout the game, hoping for a sense of luck.

Cleopatra

Where have you been if you’ve not heard of one of the world’s most famous ancient rulers? Well, the Egyptian queen has a slot game based on her and, like Rainbow Riches, the original game has led to several spin-offs and a land-based slot was the inspiration for the game. The online version was International Gaming Technology’s first foray into the online gaming world, following the success of its land-based slots. This one is a five-reel game with twenty paylines.

Some of the players of these games may not have seen any money from the lottery come their way, but unlike them, there have been lots of landmarks around the world who have fared better when it comes to the lottery smiling upon them. Here are some of the ones that have:

The Great Wall of China

There seems to be some debate about whether lottery money went into the Great Wall of China, but its most certainly feasible. According to early accounts of lotteries, Emperor Cheung created the Chinese lottery in 200 BCE to generate revenue. We know it as the game of Keno, but it’s believed that lottery money was used to expand the wall and pay for repairs on it.

The Great Wall of China is one of the 7 wonders of the world, it was also built using lottery funding.

The Jamestown Colony

The Jamestown Colony has seen a lot of lottery action, believe it or not. This was the first English town in the New World. King James I granted the privately-owned Virginia Company of London permission to hold a lottery to generate funds for an exposition. The proceeds from this lottery went into creating Jamestown.

The colony’s funding didn’t stop there, however. The colony was scraping by in the early 1600s and had been on the end of attacks from the Indians and the Spaniards. Food supplies were also low, so the colony’s sponsors received permission to hold four different lotteries to replenish food. The plan was working, but then the Virginia Company lost the lottery franchise following complaints of fraud and its impact on the poor.

The Angel of the North

Drive through Tyne and Wear and you’ll see Sir Anthony Gormley’s wide-winged steel sculpture the Angel of the North watching over you as you pass by on the motorway. The statue, which stands in Gateshead, is a tribute to northern industry, but it almost wasn’t built. There were fears it would distract motorists, there were engineering difficulties and even the statue’s creator had his doubts about the statue. Initially, the creator was snooty about the project and had told the council he didn’t create ‘motorway art’ when they’d asked him to submit ideas for the project.

Tate Modern

Tate Modern is one of the big winners. The gallery had a lot of people asking when questions when it wanted to move into an old power station instead of a posh palace designed by a tech giant. The naysayers soon got their answers though because the power station gave the Tate the might Turbine Hall, in which the installations play a major part in attracting visitors to the gallery. Approximately five million a year, in fact.

The British Museum

You might never have guessed it, but the British Museum was built using lottery money. The naturalist, physician and collector left all 71 000 of his objects to King George II in his last will and testament. He did so on the condition that they’d be housed in a free, public museum and in return for £20 000 to his heirs. The British parliament held a lottery so they could build a museum to house them all. These objects were the museum’s founding collection and today the museum houses a gargantuan eight million objects.

So next time you’re visiting a landmark, you might be visiting one that has had the good fortune to receive money from the lottery. Even if you don’t win on the lottery yourself, being able to explore one of these landmarks may still make it feel as if you’re winning.