Golden Casket
Golden Casket is the lottery corporation in Queensland. It sells lottery tickets and Instant Scratch-Its through newsagents and other convenience stores. Lottery draws are televised on Channel Seven six nights a week.
The drawing of the first Golden Casket in 1917 by Queensland Patriotic Fund was to raise money to support veterans of World War I with a first prize of £5,000.
The operation was taken over by the Queensland Government in 1920. In 1938, the Casket paid for the construction of the new Royal Brisbane Women's Hospital.
The Council of Churches, representing the evangelical churches of Queensland, was firmly opposed to government support for gambling, arguing that it legitimized an immoral industry.
In April 2007 the Queensland Government sold the Golden Casket operation to gambling company Tattersall's Limited for $530 million, with the proceeds going to the Royal Children's Hospital and the state government retaining ownership of the Golden Casket trademark via the Queensland Lottery Corporation.
On 1 June 2016 the Golden Casket brand became one of the four Tatts Group. It now sits under the brand 'The Lott' is owned by The Lottery Corporation.