If schemes don't lie about what they are, aren't they similar in their payouts - some win, some lose - to legally-sanctioned (and in some case, state-run) gambl

If schemes don't lie about what they are, aren't they similar in their payouts - some win, some lose - to legally-sanctioned (and in some case, state-run) gambling? The potential crime would be fraud - pretending a ponzi is a non-ponzi. With accurate disclosure, it's just an odd form of gambling where some late-entrants are still paying in, when there's no more chance to win.