It's not the 6/49, that's for sure. In Britain later this month, gamblers can scratch for a chance to win...a baby. That's right. It's the world's first ever IVF lottery.
For the cost of a £20 online ticket, the winner will receive £25,000 in fertility treatments at one of the country's top clinics.
The Gambling Commission has licensed a chance for one lucky player -- be they single, gay or elderly -- to become a parent each month. The unprecedented "game", which will no doubt provoke a huge ethical debate, is scheduled to launch on July 30th.
The prize includes a chauffeur ride to the clinic, with paid accommodation. The winner also gets a cell phone, so they can "maintain contact with medics at all times".
The no-holds barred lotto even includes donor eggs, reproductive surgery, even a surrogate birth should standard IVF procedures fail or prove unsuitable for winners.
It will be up to the fertility doctors' discretion at each clinic to determine "the feasibility of each possible pregnancy".
Profits from ticket sales will go to the charity "To Hatch" which provides online support for childless couples and those struggling to conceive. Many NHS budgets have axed IVF -- typically £5,000 per treatment -- as part of ever-tightening budgets.
If the lotto is a hit, tickets could eventually be sold in newsagents nationwide.
Does the lottery cheapen human life or make a costly procedure such as IVF available to those who wouldn't ordinarily be able to afford it?
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