If you can afford it, then it’s no harm really. I’ve made a profit from the lottery myself, albeit a minor one. Depending on the lottery, it’s not the worst thing you can give pocket change away to for a bit of fun. So I never understood this “you’ll never win” mentality/gatekeeping hobbies, people know the chances, but it’s fun either way.
I think the big problem is that people who are addicted to gambling are being suckered several times a week. It’s not really gambling, it’s buying a daydream. If a casino gave you similar odds in one of their slots, it would likely be illegal based on the odds and the payout. So people who think of it like gambling are getting the worst of it. The expected value never approaches anything close to fair, even at rhe highest jackpots.
Entirely dependent on the lottery, the only one I have heard of this being a thing is the main US one. You can remain completely anonymous in the major European lotteries for example.
The US and Canada Lotteries publish the winners because it is a public record that they did in fact pay out. The European commisions that don’t publish have to face yearly accusation that they don’t actually pay out and then have to publish tax forms that do infact reveal the identity of winners.
If you can afford it, then it’s no harm really. I’ve made a profit from the lottery myself, albeit a minor one. Depending on the lottery, it’s not the worst thing you can give pocket change away to for a bit of fun. So I never understood this “you’ll never win” mentality/gatekeeping hobbies, people know the chances, but it’s fun either way.
I think the big problem is that people who are addicted to gambling are being suckered several times a week. It’s not really gambling, it’s buying a daydream. If a casino gave you similar odds in one of their slots, it would likely be illegal based on the odds and the payout. So people who think of it like gambling are getting the worst of it. The expected value never approaches anything close to fair, even at rhe highest jackpots.
This article agrees. Huge caveat:
Vox, “4 ways the lottery preys on the poor”, 2016
If you win you still lose cause most places publish your name. This really is a field where wining is losing.
The money just make you an easily identified target or mark for the audience.
One the most memorable reddit posts of all time:
https://old.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/24vo34/whats_the_happiest_5word_sentence_you_could_hear/chb38xf/
Entirely dependent on the lottery, the only one I have heard of this being a thing is the main US one. You can remain completely anonymous in the major European lotteries for example.
The US and Canada Lotteries publish the winners because it is a public record that they did in fact pay out. The European commisions that don’t publish have to face yearly accusation that they don’t actually pay out and then have to publish tax forms that do infact reveal the identity of winners.