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Lotteries cash in on dreams of wealth

The Swiss spent a franc a day on lottery tickets last year, amounting to SFr2.83 billion ($2.68 billion) in total.

That was slightly less than in 2008, however, when SFr2.85 billion was generated, the Federal Justice Office said on Thursday.

Swiss Lotto remains the most popular draw across the country with turnover of SFr547 million, an increase SFr2.3 million compared to 2008.

The two companies that manage the lotteries in Switzerland, Swisslos and Loterie Romande, turned over SFr545 million of the proceeds to support projects at the cantonal level, as well as sport associations.

The lottery made the headlines in early July when a resident of central Switzerland redeemed a winning ticket from a draw in January, earning nearly SFr5 million.

He found his ticket just in time. Since no winner had come forward for six months, Swisslos had announced the money would go to public projects.

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