Grand Ducal Hessian State Lottery
The Grand Ducal Hessian State Lottery was the state lottery company of the Grand Duchy of Hesse , based in Darmstadt .
In the second half of the 19th century, the public attitude towards gambling was ambivalent. On the one hand, gambling was rejected on moral grounds; on the other hand, the income from gambling was tempting. The operation of gambling required a state license . The operation of lotteries was reserved for the state alone ( lottery monopoly ). The Grand Duchy of Hesse did not have its own lottery.
From the perspective of the small German states, there was a competitive situation. It was relatively easy for the residents of the Grand Duchy (e.g. in Prussian Frankfurt am Main ) to take part in lotteries. This made it impossible to keep one's own country children away from the lottery game and the proceeds from the lottery went to other countries.
After a long discussion, the Second Chamber of the Estates of the Grand Duchy of Hesse therefore approved the establishment of a Grand-Ducal Hessian state lottery in 1895 . In the First Chamber, however, the proponents were initially unable to prevail. It was not until July 17, 1899 that the First Chamber also agreed. The decisive factor was the expected income of 500,000 marks for the state budget. A state lottery directorate was established in Darmstadt , which was subordinate to the Ministry of Finance.
The first drawing took place on April 9, 1900. A class lottery was held in five classes. A whole lot was offered at a price of 33 marks. The main prize in the first class was 30,000 marks. In the following classes, the main prize rose to 40,000 marks in the second drawing on May 9th.
The increasing number of state lotteries was grist to the mill for opponents of the lottery game. Therefore, the state lotteries were combined into a smaller number of providers in the following years. At the end of the German Empire there were seven state lotteries. The Grand Ducal Hessian state lottery was absorbed in the Hessian-Thuringian state lottery.
This was formed on the basis of the agreement made in 1902 between the individual principalities on the merger of the Grand Ducal Hessian State Lottery with the Thuringian-Anhalt State Lottery .
During the time of National Socialism , the Hessian-Thuringian state lottery (like all other state lotteries) was merged with the realm lottery .
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- Robert Lock: 110 years of the Hessian state lottery; in: Yearbook 2010 of the support group for the Hessenpark open air museum, page 17
- Hessian education server