1560年，伊丽莎白女王创立第一支英国政府彩票，售出40万张。
1770年，大陆议会批准通过发行彩票来筹集革命军的军费。
1812年，西班牙开始发行自己的国有彩票，“胖子奖券”。这一彩票直到今天仍在运营。
19世纪早期，美国通过发行各种各样的彩票来资助教堂和大学（包括哈佛）的创建，还有那些遍及全国的民用设施建设，其资金来源大部分也是彩票。
1826年，托马斯杰佛逊发表自己“对于彩票的研究”，他辩称“彩票这种概率的游戏对于男人来说是必不可少的，与道不道德没有关系。”他把彩票称为“自愿税款”。至于他如此力挺彩票的动机：是因为杰佛逊认为他可以把自己的房子通过抽奖销售而卖得更高的价钱。
19世纪中期-晚期，由于私营彩票不断暴露出各式各样的贪污丑闻，几乎所有的州都禁止了彩票的发行。在1890年时，反彩票法案将最后一家彩票中心，路易斯安那州彩票中心关闭。
1964年，新罕布什尔州的抽彩券作为现代意义上的第一支国有彩票开始发行。
1974年，马萨诸塞州发行美国第一种即开型彩票。
1988年，有6个州和哥伦比亚特区联合发行一种叫“乐透美”的州际彩票。1992年，这一彩票更名为“强力球”
2000年，大博彩（一种州际彩票，现在称为“超级百万”）支付了3亿6300万的巨额头奖，这一奖金由2名中奖者分享，这是有史以来最高金额的彩票头奖。
2002年，西弗吉尼亚州的承包商杰克惠特克赢得3亿1500万美元的强力球头奖，这是迄今为止的最高单人奖金。但随着中奖而来的是一系列倒霉的事情，包括被捕，面临诉讼和其他的一些灾难。
2007年，德克萨斯的法案和其他一些州的立法院试图将州立彩票长期租赁给私人公司，但未获通过。并且美国司法部也警告此类计划有可能触犯了联邦法律。但是支持者们将彩票私营化当作是危机时期的一笔数十亿美元的横财，他们也许会再进行一次尝试。
译文：
1560s
Queen Elizabeth establishes the first English government lottery, which sells 400,000 tickets.
1770s
The Continental Congress approves a lottery to help fund its revolutionary army.
1812
Spain starts its national lottery, El Gordo. It’s still running.
Early 1800s
Lotteries are used to finance U.S. churches and colleges (including Harvard), along with other civic improvements across the nation.
1826
Thomas Jefferson writes his “Thoughts on Lotteries,” arguing that “far from being immoral, games of chance are indispensable to the existence of man.” He calls them a “tax on the willing.” His personal motive: He thought he’d get more money by raffling a house than by selling it outright.
Mid- to late-1800s
Stung by corruption scandals surrounding privately run lotteries, almost all states ban the games. In the 1890s, anti-lottery legislation shuts down the last one, the Louisiana Lottery.
1964
The New Hampshire Sweepstakes is launched as the first state lottery of modern times.
1974
Massachusetts offers the first scratch-off lottery ticket in the United States.
1988
Six states and the District of Columbia join to introduce a multistate lottery game called Lotto America. In 1992 the name is changed to Powerball.
2000
The Big Game (the multistate lottery now called Mega Millions) pays out a $363 million jackpot, split between two winners-the biggest lottery prize up to this point.
2002
West Virginia contractor Jack Whittaker wins the biggest single-winner jackpot ever, $315 million, in the Powerball game. His win is followed by a run of bad luck, including arrests, lawsuits, and other tribulations.
2007
Bills in Texas and other state legislatures propose selling long-term leases for the state lotteries to private buyers. None pass, and the U.S. Justice Department warns that some of the plans might violate federal law. But backers see a multibillion-dollar windfall in tough times, and they will likely try again.