ANSWER
According to legend, the first lottery in recorded history was held in China around 100 BCE, to raise funds for defense, primarily the construction of the Great Wall. The game they used was the origin of the modern-day game of Keno. There is some evidence that Julius Caesar also used a lottery to raise funds at around the same time.
The first occurrence of a "modern" number lottery, as we know it today, started in Italy in 1530. That was when the newly united Italian state started their national lottery, called the "Giuoco del Lotto", which has been held more or less every week ever since. Not only is that the origin of the term "lotto", but the game itself is a distant ancestor of the modern game of Bingo.
WHO GOT IT RIGHT: Bob Milligan, Marc Quinlivan, and Marika Thiessen.
