The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1581 Being Too Clever (Part 1)

Overall, Franz was simultaneously cracking down on gambling and formalizing casinos.

Franz's charitable casino, which he secretly set up, caused a large number of casinos to close down, and underground casinos almost disappeared.

The reason for this effect is that charitable casinos have very low commission rates. Since they are not for profit and only need to maintain basic expenses and operations, the commission rate of casinos is usually between 1% and 2%.

Adding the 5% charitable fund, the total commission rate for charitable casinos is around 7%.

In this era, casinos typically had a commission rate of over 15%, while the lottery industry's commission rate was as high as 50%. In comparison, those casinos naturally had no choice but to close down.

Since charitable casinos are not for profit, it is unlikely that other casinos would be able to bankrupt them through conventional means.

As for using unconventional methods, those gambling tycoons are no match for them. Franz was worried about not being able to wipe out this group, and if anyone dared to cause trouble, Franz was happy to send them on their way.

However, it was clear that someone wanted to defy Franz's ban and launch a large lottery throughout the Austrian Empire. Although they didn't create a farce like the 90-out-of-5 lottery of Theresa's era, the 40-out-of-5 lottery was not very clever either.

The odds of winning the grand prize in a 40-choose-5 lottery are ten times higher than in a 35-choose-7 lottery, but the coverage of smaller prizes is very low, which clearly does not make sense in a business context.

Furthermore, although railways and telegraphs existed at this time, it was still extremely difficult to establish a nationwide lottery, and the operating costs would inevitably remain high.

Franz didn't run any charity lotteries because of the huge operating costs and waste of resources, and also because lotteries were too slow to generate revenue.

Compared to all of the above, this guy designed a lottery ticket that cost a whopping 1 florin. In the entire Austrian Empire, very few people could afford to spend 1 florin like a coin; aside from the royal family, only a few high-ranking noble families would have someone like that.

The children of bureaucrats and businessmen would never make such a fool of themselves, and with such a large scale of operations, ordinary people simply don't have the capability.

"Go and investigate what's going on with this lottery?"

One week later, at the Royal Palace of Naples.

Maximilian slammed Franz's letter to the ground, then stood up and paced anxiously before the throne with his hands behind his back.

"Your Majesty, what's wrong?"

A trusted confidant asked.

In fact, truly intelligent people have already guessed the general reason and have chosen to keep quiet, since it seems that no matter how they say it, it will be wrong.

"What else could it be? That jealous and incompetent Franz not only forbids me from running a lottery in his country, but he also refuses to let me do it in Germany and other Italian states. Who does he think he is, daring to point fingers at me like that!"

Maximilian grew angrier and angrier, and he really wanted to smash something to express his resentment.

Unfortunately, he couldn't smash anything except the letter he had just received.

As for taking it out on others, that's even more impossible. Maximilian is very strict with himself and would not hold a grudge against others for it.

The surrounding ministers exchanged bewildered glances. Although the Austrian emperor might have acted somewhat domineeringly, it was undeniable that he had the right and the ability to do so.

Throughout Central Europe, if Franz didn't want someone to do something, then no one could do it.

Seeing that none of the ministers spoke up for him, Maximilian decided to continue exposing Franz's crimes.

"He even openly interfered in our internal affairs! He actually told me to stop developing the lottery industry!" Everyone remained silent, after all, the Austrian Empire truly had the capability. Although developing the lottery industry would benefit many people, no one dared to openly criticize the Emperor of Austria.

Franz was not only the emperor of the Austrian Empire, but also the de facto head of the Habsburg family, and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was just a branch of the Habsburg family.

Franz Joseph I was known as a tyrant. He might not do anything to his own brothers, but those present might not escape unscathed.

Maximilian felt a sense of desolation as he watched his trusted ministers remain silent.

"What's wrong with you all? Are you all mute?"

If this were in the East, there would probably be a scene of officials kneeling and shouting "Your subject is guilty," but at this time, their understanding of the art of language is not yet sufficient.

Finally, someone mustered the courage to speak.

"His Majesty Franz Joseph I must have had his reasons for opposing you."

"Yes. He has to give a reason."

As everyone chattered on, Maximilian, annoyed, replied.

"It's all written on that letter on the ground. You can see for yourselves."

Franz listed out all the costs for Maximilian to develop a nationwide lottery, including almost all factors such as issuance, transportation, statistics, draws, promotion and publicity, and fund collection.

The final conclusion was that it was not worth the effort and resources, and the operating costs were simply too high.

According to Maximilian's idea, if every person in the Austrian Empire bought a lottery ticket, that would amount to nearly 5000 million florins. If each person bought one ticket per week, that would amount to 130 billion florins per year.

Maximilian believed he could profit 40%, which would amount to 52 billion florins a year. At this rate, he could surpass Britain and Russia within a few years.

After all, at that time, the combined annual fiscal revenue of the world's five major powers did not even reach 50 billion florins.

The problem is that Franz can only call it wishful thinking. One florin is enough to buy 30 whole loaves of black bread, enough to feed a family of five for 3 days.

(At this time, the average family size is 5.4, with a family of five being the most common.)
Moreover, according to calculations by experts in the Austrian Empire, Maximilian's lottery is unlikely to recoup its costs, or it may require a commission rate as high as 70% to solve the problem.

Economists are not optimistic about the initial market survey data, estimating that only 5%-10% of the population will make a purchase once a month.

Moreover, data shows that the average person's psychological price point is generally between one-quarter and one-half of a penny, and almost no one is willing to buy a lottery ticket for more than 1 kreutz.

此时奥地利帝国常用货币兑换比例：1弗罗林银币=12克罗伊茨=30格罗伸=120芬尼=0.83塔勒
Besides the difficulty in making a profit, there are many other difficulties, the most important of which are issues of authenticity and corruption.

Lacking instant communication methods, lottery draws require absolute authority, and Franz felt that Maximilian was not qualified.

Moreover, it would be unwise to jeopardize the reputation of the nation and one's family for such a petty gain.

Furthermore, the lottery in the 19th century, as a form of covert gambling, was no less harmful than regular gambling, as its concealment, infiltration, and cognitive deception often left victims completely unaware.

In addition, given its tendency to exploit the poor, the more popular the lottery industry becomes, the faster the national order collapses.