Lotteries are a form of gambling in which participants pay money in order to match numbers for prizes that range from cash and goods or services, to raffle tickets with odds between 1 and 100 and hope of winning one of several possible prizes by matching numbers. Lotteries are extremely popular across many countries and can even help raise money for charitable and public works projects through this means of betting. There are different kinds of lotteries, from scratch-off tickets and raffles through multiple drawings every week with some offering millions while others only award 10s or 100s of dollars worth.

Lotteries have historically been one of the most widely enjoyed forms of public entertainment and are frequently presented as harmless and fun. Yet critics have pointed out that lotteries can become addictive, decreasing quality of life for those who take part. There are even instances of individuals becoming worse off after winning one!

American public lotteries first took place in the Low Countries during the 15th century. These lotteries originally served to raise funds for repairs and reconstruction, such as walls or fortifications, as well as provide aid to the poor. Benjamin Franklin sponsored one in 1776 to try and raise cannon funds against British attacks against Philadelphia but it was unsuccessful.

Lotterie revenues typically surge upon introduction and then level off or even decline, prompting constant introduction of new games in an attempt to keep or grow revenues, including scratch-off tickets that offer instant gratification to customers.

Lottery advertisements may paint an optimistic picture, yet most lottery winners receive much smaller sums due to tax withholdings and inflation. Research also indicates that lottery play is most common among lower-income groups and may decrease with age and educational attainment.

Because lotteries operate as businesses with an aim of increasing revenues, their marketing campaigns necessarily encourage people to spend their hard-earned cash. This has raised questions as to whether government agencies should promote gambling. Additionally, there are numerous ethical concerns involved with promoting an addictive game with potential negative repercussions for people’s lives. Concerns surrounding gambling include its prevalence, its potentially regressive impacts on the poor, and questionable use of public funds for private gain. Yet no state has banned lottery altogether. State lotteries, federally-regulated gaming and charitable bingo all regulate ticket promotions and sales; regulatory agencies oversee them all to ensure fair play by operating fairly and honestly; they enforce rules established by lottery commissions as well.

This year’s shortlist for the Singapore Prize – National University of Singapore’s (NUS) first history award – puts ordinary Singaporeans centre stage. Academic tomes remain on the list, as do works with an intimate focus that challenge traditional understandings of history as simply chronicles of big movers and shakers, say authors. Kamaladevi Aravindan’s Sembawang (2020; available here) chronicles life within an estate over time.

Nominating committee for the prize narrowed its selection down to 31 books for consideration, drawing inspiration from Kishore Mahbubani of NUS Asia Research Institute who first suggested it in a Straits Times column as being crucial to nations being imagined communities with shared histories that unite them all. When awarded in 2024, this prize will honour an author whose work best illuminates this history and contributes to Singaporeans understanding themselves better.

Novelists Myle Yan Tay and Suchen Christine Lim were shortlisted for their debut novels catskull (2023) and Dearest Intimate (2022). Lim received the Cultural Medallion Award in 1992 when her third novel Fistful Of Colours won her this prize; poet Edwin Thumboo was nominated with his poetic collection, The Lies That Built A Marriage (1993).

In the non-fiction category, Jeremy Tiang’s Chinese-language translation of Zhang Yueran’s Cocoon (2022) won the English comic or graphic novel award. Cockman (2022), featuring an alien chicken who finds itself trapped on Earth as human form, was shortlisted and “deserves to be read for its total lack of compromise or seriousness” when depicting alienation.

NUS Press professor Peter Borschberg published The Rise and Fall Of An Empire: The Dutch In Indonesia (2017, available here). Other noteworthy works in non-fiction included historian Kwa Chong Guan’s Seven Hundred Years: A History of Singapore (2019; also available online here), Joshua Wong from NUS alumnus Joshua Wong’s biography of founding father Lee Kuan Yew by NUS alumni Joshua Wong as well as Tan Boon Hui’s memoir (both listed above).

NUS Press will produce a limited-edition signed and numbered edition of the winning book for distribution; other shortlisted titles will also be sold at major bookstores across Singapore.

Consumers can cast their vote and select their top works here, with readers earning book vouchers worth up to SG$50 when selecting their favorites in each category.

On Tuesday in Singapore, Earthshot prizes winners were revealed at their inaugural award ceremonies and will offer solutions in areas including nature protection, clean air pollution control, ocean revitalization and waste elimination. Celebrities attending included Oscar winner Cate Blanchett, actors Donnie Yen and Lana Condor as well as Australian wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin – five winners were selected out of 15 finalist projects which tackle climate change issues, food waste reduction or animal welfare concerns.