The comparison to a lottery is too kind. In a lottery the ticket fees go to the organizer, who wastes a little in administrative fees, takes a percentage for t

The comparison to a lottery is too kind. In a lottery the ticket fees go to the organizer, who wastes a little in administrative fees, takes a percentage for themselves, and returns the rest as prizes. Bad for income distribution, but not especially wasteful. In a PoW blockchain the "ticket fee" — the electricity and depreciating hardware — is completely used up. The reward doesn't come from the other miners, but from transaction fees and new coins (diluting the value). It's like a lottery that uses all the income from tickets to pay for marketing, and the actual prizes are paid by government subsidy.