>a similar argument probably applies to the lottery also but nobody likes mentioning that either In a vaccuum, yes, people are losing money on the lottery. I

>a similar argument probably applies to the lottery also but nobody likes mentioning that either In a vaccuum, yes, people are losing money on the lottery. I personally see it as kind of a "lesser of two evils" kind of thing, though. It allows people to scratch the "if I were rich" itch that causes some folk to risk everything they have (note that the exact same imagery is used to advertise both the lotto and high-risk speculative investments/ponzi schemes) while limiting the losses to the cost of a ticket each week. Not saying that lottery addicts don't exist, but they're far less likely to lose everything than a problem gambler/day trader.