From a policy making perspective, this article is on point. Lottery advocates justify their existence by saying the money goes to a good cause, like education o

From a policy making perspective, this article is on point. Lottery advocates justify their existence by saying the money goes to a good cause, like education or sports. And sure it does, by taxing the people who can afford it the least. The tax system is mostly progressive, taxing people with higher incomes more. But this is regressive tax that hurts poor people most. But if you looked at it from the perspective of the people who are buying the lottery tickets, this view is paternalistic. They know that they're unlikely to win, but they buy anyway because it's a chance of winning something big. They're buying hope. And they're doing it of their own free will. Any attempt to "save" them from this regressive tax won't find much support from them.