American Sweepstakes

by Kevin Flynn

Long banned in the United States, the Federal government told New Hampshire in 1963 it couldn’t start a lottery – not without breaking a score of laws and courting infiltration by racketeers. Led by a motley group of characters – including a governor betting his political career and a celebrated FBI agent – they pushed ahead anyway. That set the first state-operated lottery on a collision course with the Feds, the media, and the church.

The New Hampshire Sweepstakes wasn’t a scratch ticket or a numbers draw; it was one glorious horse race. Thousands flocked to the state to buy tickets. Some were arrested…

American Sweepstakes tells the forgotten tale of how this small state fought all-comers, ushering in the modern lottery age and creating the American daydream.

Watch this trailer to learn the amazing backstory to the fight over the first lottery as told in American Sweepstakes.

“Flynn does a superb job of making all his characters come alive. In an entertaining way, Flynn recalls an important time in America, including the Kennedy era of the 1960s. You can bet on enjoying American Sweepstakes.” 

-Thomas Maier, author of Masters of Sex