Sweepstakes is a lottery-like gambling game that is very popular in the UK in the context of horse racing, especially the Grand National. In the run-up to this race, the BBC and many newspapers offer the necessary files for Download, so that players can arrange this lottery in the circle of colleagues or friends.
The origin and explanation of the Name
Originally called Sweepstake (s), a horse race, in which the owners of the horses paid the starting Money in a pot, from which the prizes for the successful horses were paid. In the simplest case, if there was only one prize (The winner takes all), the winner of all bets. The name Sweepstakes is therefore also found in the name of many races – not only horse races -, for example, all Alaska Sweepstakes; the Indianapolis 500 was formerly called International 500-Mile Sweepstakes, etc.
The flow of the game
The names of the 40 horses starting at the Grand National are written on paper, loose, and these papers are then mixed and placed in a hat. Before the start of the draw, each participant pays the agreed price for a horse (usually £ 1 to £ 5), the sum of the bets forming the winning pot (Pot, Pool). If the participants have placed their bets, the draw begins. Each participant then draws a lot; the organizer enters in a list which horse was drawn by whom.
If two or more horses go through the goal at the same time – this is called a dead race – the winnings are divided accordingly.
Supplementary
It is, of course, essential that all participants complete their bets before the start of the draw; after the beginning of the draw, it is no longer possible to participate in the game.
A horse that has no one should win a prize, the corresponding part of the pot is donated to a charity – or you can proceed so that the strokes just not all the drawn horses from the standings, and only the order of the drawn horses considered.
With a smaller number of participants, you can also allow a player to buy more than one horse.
If more players want to take part than horses to the Start, in addition to the lots with the names of the starters, empty pieces (rivets) are placed in the hat in the appropriate number.
Sweepstakes in the Form described here is pure gambling, in which all participants have the same chances – expertise in terms of the possibilities of individual horses is neither necessary nor can a game participant improve his chances through knowledge.
Irish Hospital’s Sweepstake
The Irish Hospitals ‘ Sweepstake or Irish Sweepstake was a viral lottery in Ireland and the Irish Community in the US from 1930 to 1987 based on this gaming system.
Calcutta Sweepstake
Further development of this game idea is the Calcutta Sweepstake, where after the draw the Tickets with the names of the horses are auctioned. While in the original game form sports knowledge is of no importance, so it is crucial in a Calcutta Sweepstake, however, to be able to assess the chances of the individual horses thoroughly, in addition, one must also assess the expected total amount as well when giving a bid.