Is playing national lottery smart or waste of time?

[pawel7777]

Topic and poll inspired by another thread - question:

Do you play national lottery games (Powerball, EuroMillions, Lotto etc)?

My view on big, often state-owned lotteries is they're designed mainly for 2 reasons: to make a profit and as a social tool that sells dreams of instant life change and massive wealth to the masses to keep them in line.

Most people are not satisfied with their lives and they need some sort of hope for the future to keep going and to prevent themselves from turning into crime, falling into depression etc. However messed-up your life might be, there's still hope that buying a cheap lottery ticket could potentially turn you into a millionaire (or even a billionaire) overnight. That's a powerful tool.

But the reality is, such lotteries usually have way worse odds than any casinos or gambling sites. So, mathematically speaking, you're better off gambling your money there.

Thoughts?

[1714318866]

1714318866

[goaldigger]

The target of the national lottery is not the real gamblers though, it is those small bettors who are hoping to win the jackpot and changed their lives. The odds are pretty low especially if there's a lot of numbers to play with, this is pretty cheap as well and that's why many can afford to bet and its pretty convenient. In my country, the government owned lotter serve another purpose by giving help to the poorest of the poor especially on giving medical and financial assistance. This is not a waste of time to others, but personally I see this as a waste of money even if its cheap because of multiple bets in just a month.

[pawel7777]

The target of the national lottery is not the real gamblers though, it is those small bettors who are hoping to win the jackpot and changed their lives.

Oh, for sure. It's actually funny how many regular lottery players would have a strong disdain for gambling, somehow thinking the lottery does not fall into that category.
That's just how the perception is formed: if everyone is doing it and it's state-endorsed then it's all good. But any other form of gambling is for crooks and degenerates

In my country, the government owned lotter serve another purpose by giving help to the poorest of the poor especially on giving medical and financial assistance. This is not a waste of time to others, but personally I see this as a waste of money even if its cheap because of multiple bets in just a month.

Fair enough, but they could still just finance any good causes from taxes, but there's a reason they prefer the lottery.

[Wexnident]

But the reality is, such lotteries usually have way worse odds than any casinos or gambling sites. So, mathematically speaking, you're better off gambling your money there.

If we were to compare it based on something like that, then the lottery would be for someone who has no time, at all, to learn and spend the time playing in a casino. It's also better in terms of money spent in each session since you wouldn't exactly spend a single ticket worth of money for one session in casinos. Even if you consider multiple tickets worth it, it still isn't enough afaik.

And that's the allure of the lottery, compared to regular gambling with slots, dice, etc. I honestly wouldn't even use "possible profit" as a metric, I reckon regular people who play the lottery don't even play gambling in the first place (other than the lottery that is) after all.

[fortunecrypto]

But the reality is, such lotteries usually have way worse odds than any casinos or gambling sites. So, mathematically speaking, you're better off gambling your money there.

Thoughts?

But millions of people choose to ignore or do not know this, all they know is this is their ticket to escape poverty and change their life, even if it's almost impossible to hit the jackpot, we also have a lottery here and we have 9 games held daily because we supported our lottery because it is government-run and the proceeds of the profit are being used by our government in the health sector and for social welfare.
I play the lotto often, and I know that it's almost impossible to hit the jackpot but I support our government-run lottery because of the benefits our poor people are getting.

[pawel7777]

If we were to compare it based on something like that, then the lottery would be for someone who has no time, at all, to learn and spend the time playing in a casino. It's also better in terms of money spent in each session since you wouldn't exactly spend a single ticket worth of money for one session in casinos. Even if you consider multiple tickets worth it, it still isn't enough afaik.

Good point, convenience and sometimes zero time needed to play the lottery is definitely some factor, i.e. in the UK you could just set up regular ticket purchases and you'd get notified if you win - so after the initial setup, you literally don't have to do anything. But that's definitely not a major factor here, I think it's got more to do with the mental perception of lottery Vs. other gambling.
For example, placing a small, combination bet on a large number of completely random sports events could give you the same potential winnings but at much better odds, and yet most people just prefer the lottery, probably because it doesn't have the stigma that other gambling has.

[klidex]

The target of the national lottery is not the real gamblers though, it is those small bettors who are hoping to win the jackpot and changed their lives. The odds are pretty low especially if there's a lot of numbers to play with, this is pretty cheap as well and that's why many can afford to bet and its pretty convenient. In my country, the government owned lotter serve another purpose by giving help to the poorest of the poor especially on giving medical and financial assistance. This is not a waste of time to others, but personally I see this as a waste of money even if its cheap because of multiple bets in just a month.

It is true that lottery gambling is indeed the majority of the most interested in small bettors because with a large multiple of the profit if the numbers at stake are correct with the numbers that come out.
In lottery betting, you don't need a large betting capital, that's why small gamblers are very interested and can afford to bet at any time, even though the chances of winning are very small.
But there are also those who can win the lottery with a very large total number of wins. However, such luck may be a once-in-a-lifetime percentage and not everyone gets that kind of luck.

[robelneo]

My view on big, often state-owned lotteries is they're designed mainly for 2 reasons: to make a profit and as a social tool that sells dreams of instant life change and massive wealth to the masses to keep them in line.

First, yes I voted that I often play the lottery, and we all know that these lotteries are selling dreams and instant life chances, but there are actual people winning and people changing their lives because of the lottery, there's no logic or explanation needed because people will bet on something that will make them financially free, and it only worth $0.50 to bet in a lottery here so why not go for something that is cheap and could possibly change your life

But the reality is, such lotteries usually have way worse odds than any casinos or gambling sites. So, mathematically speaking, you're better off gambling your money there.

I once asked this, to 10 bettors and they have the same answer, and that's "It's none of my business, and it's their money"

[piebeyb]

over time this game was very popular in the past but now times have changed so this lottery game is not much in demand now, most everyone switches to casino games such as slot gambling, usually most parents still play the lottery because they only make small bets hoping to win and being a millionaire, the average risk is not too big in my opinion because maybe they only make small bets, it's different from playing casinos, for parents it won't waste time buying lottery tickets 

[babygun]

I always try to play on it with 1 ticket and my dad already plays on it for more than 40 years and he will continue to do it as he still hopes to one day win the big lot. Years ago he was so close but instead of winning millions he won a couple of grand which is also not so bad.

[Ben Barubal]

Topic and poll inspired by another thread - question:

Do you play national lottery games (Powerball, EuroMillions, Lotto etc)?

My view on big, often state-owned lotteries is they're designed mainly for 2 reasons: to make a profit and as a social tool that sells dreams of instant life change and massive wealth to the masses to keep them in line.

Most people are not satisfied with their lives and they need some sort of hope for the future to keep going and to prevent themselves from turning into crime, falling into depression etc. However messed-up your life might be, there's still hope that buying a cheap lottery ticket could potentially turn you into a millionaire (or even a billionaire) overnight. That's a powerful tool.

But the reality is, such lotteries usually have way worse odds than any casinos or gambling sites. So, mathematically speaking, you're better off gambling your money there.

Thoughts?

    You know here in our country the people who mostly have no hope because of the poverty they are facing, the only thing that gives them hope to get out of the poverty of their lives is to bet on the lottery and win millions of money.

    Even the majority of those who bet here take care of their numbers through the birthday of their loved ones, the others have taken several years to take care of the number they always use, and it has taken decades or more.

Betting on the lottery has become like maintenance or part of their lives.

[Eureka_07]

<snip>

People say that the chance for you to win from jackpot lotteries is smaller than the chance of you getting struck twice by lightning on the same spot. Odds are really stacked against you however, reward is high (that's why a lot of people are still trying even though they are aware of that).
I was also planning to do that, but probably will try it once the jackpot prize becomes higher.

[coin-investor]

Most people are not satisfied with their lives and they need some sort of hope for the future to keep going and to prevent themselves from turning into crime, falling into depression etc. However messed-up your life might be, there's still hope that buying a cheap lottery ticket could potentially turn you into a millionaire (or even a billionaire) overnight. That's a powerful tool.

But the reality is, such lotteries usually have way worse odds than any casinos or gambling sites. So, mathematically speaking, you're better off gambling your money there.

Thoughts?

People especially those desperate ones or living on poverty lines, many of us here are like that, need something like a Genie in a lamp to keep their hopes alive, that one day they will escape poverty, and they see it in a lottery they will not accept the mathematical calculations or sound logic that its almost impossible to win as long as they see people like them hitting the jackpot.
Even if it's impossible they just want something to hope for.

[PX-Z]

I wont call it a waste of time, either waste of money its very cheap to participate actually, well, in my country, yes. Although i wont call it a smart move either.

It's true that doing gambling will give you higher odds for getting a win, but nothing compare to a winning of a jackpot prize from the lottery.

[ethereumhunter]

Playing the lottery gives hope to many people to change their lives for the better. And that's why many of them still buy lotteries cheaply and spend a certain amount of money and wait for the results to come out. Indeed, this can be depressing if they bought the lottery a long time ago but couldn't win any prizes. But that doesn't stop them because they still believe that they will surely win it one day. The lottery is not a waste of time because buying lots of tickets at cheap prices can give us a big chance to win even though it will depend on how big our level of luck is.

[Cling18]

I wont call it a waste of time, either waste of money its very cheap to participate actually, well, in my country, yes. Although i wont call it a smart move either.

It's true that doing gambling will give you higher odds for getting a win, but nothing compare to a winning a jackpot prize from the lottery.

I also consider it a waste of money and time. I know someone who has been betting all her life on the same number combination believing that it will be the only thing that could change her life. If we'll total her total betting amount, it would be huge enough for her to out up a business. I don't think it's a wise or even smart move because I could feel that most bettors are putting too much hope in it.

[Mr. Magkaisa]

   - Maybe, people who don't like to bet on the lottery can think or say that it's a waste of time. But for people who believe in this, even if they have been betting on the lottery for several years, their beliefs are still strong that the time will come when they will also get their luck by hitting the lottery.

Also, for me, the lottery is its purpose, I just think that the millions of people who bet on it even with the minimum amount are a big deal for the lotto company. This means that it is clear that their target is not only gamblers but also all those who like to bet on the lottery. Because many people like to bet on the lottery who are not gamblers in reality.

[aioc]

What would I lose if I only bet a few cents in exchange for life-changing money if I ever hit a jackpot, we've seen people hitting a jackpot in a lottery this person could be you if you're betting even if the odds are very high we just never know, as long as the lottery I'm betting is fair every bettor on that lottery have a chance to win and change their life and become financially free, we sometimes have to take a chance, I believe in extreme lucky and sometimes it hit you when you least expect it.

[PX-Z]

I  also consider it a waste of money and time...

If we'll total her total betting amount, it would be huge enough for her to out up a business. I don't think it's a wise or even smart move because I could feel that most bettors are putting too much hope in it.

That's what almost everyone talks or lines talking to a lottery bettor or to a gambler.
 
While it will only be a waste of money when you prioritize your betting than your needs, or particularly speaking when you are not enjoying or getting excited betting, assuming people do this for entertainment, for gambling addiction better to take from professional advice.

Now, if you are indeed serious of talking of such line on every lottery bettor or simply to any gambler, then this board might not good for you, because most here will oppose of that statement considering most people here do gambling for how many years.

[pawel7777]

...
First, yes I voted that I often play the lottery, and we all know that these lotteries are selling dreams and instant life chasnce, but there are actual people winning and people changing their lives because of the lottery, there's no logic or explanation needed because people will bet on something that will make them financially free, and it only worth $0.50 to bet in a lottery here so why not go for something that is cheap and could possibly change your life

Strange thing is that, allegedly, a lot of lottery winners, would go broke after winning big, some media articles quote even 70% of them, and they wished they had never won. I take that with a grain of salt though, as there doesn't seem to be any credible source for that number (some other sources claim that 'only' a third of winners would go broke).

But the reality is, such lotteries usually have way worse odds than any casinos or gambling sites. So, mathematically speaking, you're better off gambling your money there.

I once asked this, to 10 bettors and they have the same answer, and that's "It's none of my business, and it's their money"

People tend to get very defensive when you challenge their actions and they cannot come up with any reasoning.

[dimonstration]

It’s not smart nor waste of time. It depends on how you treat your bet and how often you place bet on this lottery. It’s a waste of time if you are betting in daily basis and allocates most of your money on it just to get a financial freedom once you which is very rare to happened. But playing it just for fun especially when the jackpot prize is bigger than usual is not a bad idea to have a chance of being a millionaire in fun way.

Betting on lottery is never a smart choice because we all know how slim the winning percentage of this game. This game is only meant for fun only and not to be seriously play.

[swogerino]

Topic and poll inspired by another thread - question:

Do you play national lottery games (Powerball, EuroMillions, Lotto etc)?

My view on big, often state-owned lotteries is they're designed mainly for 2 reasons: to make a profit and as a social tool that sells dreams of instant life change and massive wealth to the masses to keep them in line.

Most people are not satisfied with their lives and they need some sort of hope for the future to keep going and to prevent themselves from turning into crime, falling into depression etc. However messed-up your life might be, there's still hope that buying a cheap lottery ticket could potentially turn you into a millionaire (or even a billionaire) overnight. That's a powerful tool.

But the reality is, such lotteries usually have way worse odds than any casinos or gambling sites. So, mathematically speaking, you're better off gambling your money there.

Thoughts?

I play my national weekly lottery for the simple reason that a ticket costs just 2 dollars,a completely irrelevant amount for 90% of the society here and thus I buy a couple of tickets every week without expecting a win but of course if the win happens then it means it solves some of my problems,for example I can afford to live without working for a minimum of 2-3 years as that is how big the prize of this lottery is.This is nor smart nor not smart,it is just a small gamble which if it comes true it can solve to me or anyone who wins the prize some problems.

They have the worse odds but they do not make anyone addicted,we have to wait on Saturday when the lottery is being shown in TV so as long as someone has such ticket there is no need to go to the casino,of course there are a lot of people who buy such tickets and who never go to the casino or gamble so in this sense they are smart for me.

[julerz12]

Here in the Philippines, we have all types of lotteries nationwide. A national lottery run by the government that promises to use the collected bets for charities, medical assistance, etc.
Filipinos need to pick a six-number combination to place their bet. Here are the odds of winning in these lotteries per lottery variations.

Mega Lotto = pick 6 numbers from 1 to 45. Odds of winning: 1 in 8,145,060
Super Lotto = pick 6 numbers from 1 to 49. Odds of winning: 1 in 13,983,816
Grand Lotto = pick 6 numbers from 1 to 55. Odds of winning: 1 in 28,989,675
Ultra Lotto = pick 6 numbers from 1 to 58. Odds of winning: 1 in 40,475,358
Source: [ 1 ]

As you can see, the odds of winning this lottery are dramatically low that it would seem you would have a higher chance of getting hit by lightning (1 in 600,000 in the Philippines) than winning it.
It's not a waste of money though as those collected bets are used to help those in need, so it's kinda like you're just making a charitable donation. But, it's a false hope. You are better off concentrating your thoughts on how to improve your life rather than thinking of a 6-digit combination to bet into.

[acroman08]

regarding the poll, I wouldn't say that often bet or rarely bet on a lottery I am someone in the middle.

Do you play national lottery games (Powerball, EuroMillions, Lotto etc)?

yeah, I play national lottery games. personally, I wouldn't say it is a waste of time or money. it doesn't hurt to spend a small amount of money and get the chance of winning the jackpot which can change your life many times over. yeah, I understand that the chance of winning is slim to none but I don't really care. besides, you don't really need to guess all the winning numbers in order to win something.

[jrrsparkles]

It is changing someone's life everyday but as you said the odds are like one in a million so to my best knowledge I did played very few times in my entire lifetime and I know I am not going to win that but there are many colleagues I came across has the habit of buying lottery tickets very often and they manage to win in hundreds while losing thousands so as an individual realistic point of view its waste of time but when luck hits you hard then nothing withstand against it.

[bittraffic]

I can only count the number of times I bought a lottery ticket. I put all my hopes into it but when I didn't win, I already forget there was hope for it.
Even the scratch lottery, I once thought of buying some of it while in a mall but it's always going to occur in my mind what are my chances of winning. And I stand correct not to play such games.

But I have no doubts that there are people who are lucky enough to have won millions in lottery. Yet we also know they have spent a lot of money buying tickets.

[pixie85]

I think it's a waste of time. I never do it because the odds are against you.

There's a guy in my neighborhood who spends a lot of money on the lottery each month. 500 EUR or even more and he never won anything above 2k eur.
He lost a lot of money playing this but is addicted and has nothing going on in his life, no family and so on, so he just works, pays the bills and wastes whatever money's left on the lottery. 

[TimeTeller]

I can only count the number of times I bought a lottery ticket. I put all my hopes into it but when I didn't win, I already forget there was hope for it.
Even the scratch lottery, I once thought of buying some of it while in a mall but it's always going to occur in my mind what are my chances of winning. And I stand correct not to play such games.

But I have no doubts that there are people who are lucky enough to have won millions in lottery. Yet we also know they have spent a lot of money buying tickets.

I have the same thought also when it comes to lotteries, and very rare that I did purchase lottery tickets.
But during those few times, you can really feel the excitement of knowing what numbers were picked.
Maybe, just the thought of what if you got lucky with some numbers and get the consolation rewards.

And if I may add, most national lotteries are of course government-owned, and one benefit that I believe the OP forgot to mention is that some part of the profits are channeled to charitable works or to charity organizations.
So for me, I am not against with lottery games, I may not be playing as frequent as others, but if they can help other people, I have nothing against with this gambling game.

[seoincorporation]

Mega Lotto = pick 6 numbers from 1 to 45. Odds of winning: 1 in 8,145,060
Super Lotto = pick 6 numbers from 1 to 49. Odds of winning: 1 in 13,983,816
Grand Lotto = pick 6 numbers from 1 to 55. Odds of winning: 1 in 28,989,675
Ultra Lotto = pick 6 numbers from 1 to 58. Odds of winning: 1 in 40,475,358
Source: [ 1 ]
...

This is why I don't play the national lottery, the odds to win are too damn low. I mean a chance of 0.0000001227%, so, we have a better chance to find a wallet in the street with money than to win the lotto.

To have some comparations... Hit a x999 on plinko has a chance of 0.0034% and hitting a x330,000 on dice is a chance of 0.0003%. And both hits are really hard to get, now with this comparative think about how hard is to win the lottery, I would say it's almost impossible.

[wiss19]

Here in the Philippines, we have all types of lotteries nationwide. A national lottery run by the government that promises to use the collected bets for charities, medical assistance, etc.
Filipinos need to pick a six-number combination to place their bet. Here are the odds of winning in these lotteries per lottery variations.

Mega Lotto = pick 6 numbers from 1 to 45. Odds of winning: 1 in 8,145,060
Super Lotto = pick 6 numbers from 1 to 49. Odds of winning: 1 in 13,983,816
Grand Lotto = pick 6 numbers from 1 to 55. Odds of winning: 1 in 28,989,675
Ultra Lotto = pick 6 numbers from 1 to 58. Odds of winning: 1 in 40,475,358
Source: [ 1 ]

As you can see, the odds of winning this lottery are dramatically low that it would seem you would have a higher chance of getting hit by lightning (1 in 600,000 in the Philippines) than winning it.
It's not a waste of money though as those collected bets are used to help those in need, so it's kinda like you're just making a charitable donation. But, it's a false hope. You are better off concentrating your thoughts on how to improve your life rather than thinking of a 6-digit combination to bet into.

Even if the odds in winning a lottery are so low, it's surprising to see a winner from time to time because it was always announced online or offline. I think this is one of the reasons why people don't stop betting because they are hoping that they are going to be the next winner.

We can only wish that the jackpots that we will get are huge or higher than the total bets that we made over the decades but I dunno maybe there are people who will still be happy and the prize doesn't really matter for them because like you said, the proceeds of the bets are still going to go through the charities. It's okay to lose as long as you are helping someone else indirectly.

[abel1337]

It a cheap way to turn people life upside down. There are people who devoted themselves betting on their magic number for years now and there are only handful of people who are winning this national lottery. I don't join lottery since it's 100% luck based and it's pretty upsetting if you bet everyday on this even if it's cheap. I know I don't have the luck in this kind of games since I very rarely win any kind of raffle I join. Only handful of people can win this and winning it for the second time is extremely rare. I would just choose to gamble in casino since the odds of me winning there is much more than this national lottery.

[BobK71]

I have wasted a lot of money in such lotteries where i won nothing. There is no relevant issue in spending money in this platform. Because i am worried about whether the lottery that i am buying is being drawn through proper management or whether something fake is being assured or not. Although i used to buy lottery without losing much money. But no one should spend a small amount of money where nothing return. I have now completely stopped buying those lottery tickets. I believe i will never see those lottery winners. Because they might be staged as fakes. It can also be a big mistake to believe when corruption is entrenched at every level.

[Porfirii]

I think that it is quite smart. National lottery is often very cheap, like 2.5€ for EuroMillions, but just 1€ for local "Primitiva" or 1.50€ for "El Gordo" in Spain, and I suppose that this is the range of prices for most countries.

And with such a cheap bet you buy the excitement carried by the chance to suddenly become rich, for a whole week!

We all know that chances to win are minimal, but we usually doesn't care: we want to believe, to enjoy that feeling of hope. So, to me, the minute you spend playing the lottery is one of the best spent minutes of the week, taking into account the outcome in terms of joy thinking about the future. And it goes without saying if you become one of the lucky winners.

[o48o]

Topic and poll inspired by another thread - question:

Do you play national lottery games (Powerball, EuroMillions, Lotto etc)?

My view on big, often state-owned lotteries is they're designed mainly for 2 reasons: to make a profit and as a social tool that sells dreams of instant life change and massive wealth to the masses to keep them in line.

Most people are not satisfied with their lives and they need some sort of hope for the future to keep going and to prevent themselves from turning into crime, falling into depression etc. However messed-up your life might be, there's still hope that buying a cheap lottery ticket could potentially turn you into a millionaire (or even a billionaire) overnight. That's a powerful tool.

But the reality is, such lotteries usually have way worse odds than any casinos or gambling sites. So, mathematically speaking, you're better off gambling your money there.

Thoughts?

Changes of winning in one of them is astronomical. But differences on the probabilites of different lotteries are also ridiculously high. Numbers just are so high that we stop paying attention how many times no one is getting the main prize. And when you think of one second how many people are playing in your area, or in the world, number on those too turn instantly so high that we can't comprehend those.

They are being played because that brings comfort to some living in poverty, that in one day they could end up being super rich. Which they are not going to be.

[n0ne]

We can't be judgemental on the result of the lottery. Its long since lottery being played. For majority of them buying lottery tickets have turned to be a regular one. Even now there are daily wage people who allocate and keep the amount to buy lottery separately. Whether this is. smart move or waste of time depends on the activity of the users.

[Shinpako09]

Sometimes I think of it as a waste of time. The price per combination may be cheap but most play with more than one combination almost every day. If you are going, to sum up, all that bet in a year, that would be quite big. I'd rather take my chances in casino games where it has better odds of winning compared to the lottery which is way too low.

[BitcoinPanther]

I always believe that lottery is made by the government to profit, or fund some projects, or charities.  There is two stance I have here.

1.  If the proceeds of the lottery profit goes to the right party such as economy development or charity support fund then I will say, it is a smart move of soliciting its citizen to support the government projects and acts of kindness and in return reward the lucky winner of life changing aount.

2.  If the lottery profit fund goes to the pocket of the corrupt officials then i can say it is a waste of time.

[Agbe]

Topic and poll inspired by another thread - question:

Do you play national lottery games (Powerball, EuroMillions, Lotto etc)?

My view on big, often state-owned lotteries is they're designed mainly for 2 reasons: to make a profit and as a social tool that sells dreams of instant life change and massive wealth to the masses to keep them in line.

Most people are not satisfied with their lives and they need some sort of hope for the future to keep going and to prevent themselves from turning into crime, falling into depression etc. However messed-up your life might be, there's still hope that buying a cheap lottery ticket could potentially turn you into a millionaire (or even a billionaire) overnight. That's a powerful tool.

But the reality is, such lotteries usually have way worse odds than any casinos or gambling sites. So, mathematically speaking, you're better off gambling your money there.

Thoughts?

Those who are very good in Lotto can buy lottery ticket to play random numbers. But are you trying to advertise something? Because the way you sound, you talk with full confident that person must win and as for me that is not possible. Lottery ticket is also a lucky game, which is not compulsorily that the wager must win but he has to try his lucky. Lotto line of games are more difficult than to predict than even sport and other casinos' games.
The " COULD" you used has already confirmed the statement that, the win which you confidentially said, the person will win millions or billions overnight is probability. So the guaranteed win is not possible again based on the word 'could'. Before people win lottery games, he has lost enough. People lost in money in Lotto or lottery than casinos. Please don't convince people to play lottery games, if they loss you will be held responsible

[Vaskiy]

I always believe that lottery is made by the government to profit, or fund some projects, or charities.  There is two stance I have here.

1.  If the proceeds of the lottery profit goes to the right party such as economy development or charity support fund then I will say, it is a smart move of soliciting its citizen to support the government projects and acts of kindness and in return reward the lucky winner of life changing aount.

2.  If the lottery profit fund goes to the pocket of the corrupt officials then i can say it is a waste of time.

Agreed, in my country particular state have got national lottery. The fund is being used for the development of medical infrastructure and for the cancer patients. Everything is transparent and no corruption in the fund. Some interesting incidents happen often, recently an person aged 80+ won the lottery and the thing is that he had saved each and every lottery he had bought regularly till date. What he have spend on buying the lottery tickets till date is something close to his winning money.

[Viscore]

But the reality is, such lotteries usually have way worse odds than any casinos or gambling sites. So, mathematically speaking, you're better off gambling your money there.

Thoughts?

But millions of people choose to ignore or do not know this, all they know is this is their ticket to escape poverty and change their life, even if it's almost impossible to hit the jackpot, we also have a lottery here and we have 9 games held daily because we supported our lottery because it is government-run and the proceeds of the profit are being used by our government in the health sector and for social welfare.
I play the lotto often, and I know that it's almost impossible to hit the jackpot but I support our government-run lottery because of the benefits our poor people are getting.

That’s one good thing about lottery, even if gamblers will rarely win, those amount that goes into gambling lottery house will still be benefited by the poorest people that really need assistance from the government, physically and financially. So there’s no really losses when we bet, as there are lotto beneficiaries await from it. The only thing we start losing is when we bet more than we can afford to lose. As lottery can changes everything from rags to riches, but it can also make us worst gamblers and put us into more poverty.

[Hamphser]

But the reality is, such lotteries usually have way worse odds than any casinos or gambling sites. So, mathematically speaking, you're better off gambling your money there.

Thoughts?

Odds are close to impossible which means that you do need all the luck of this world for you to be able to hit up the jackpot which is something that it is really hard or something that couldnt happen even if you do tend to buy up tickets for the rest of your life.If it wasnt really meant for you then hitting those combinations would really be not that something that you should hope for because it would really just make you
that annoyed or disappointed every draw results just because your number combinations didnt hit.Its not bad to spare up some amount for tickets but this is something that wont really be resulting into
huge spending where 1-2 tickets everyday wasnt that so bad but its up into yours.Mathematically speaking about odds then it would be understandable if you do make out some comparison.
Lesser risks then less money would be gained and vice versa.

[serjent05]

...
First, yes I voted that I often play the lottery, and we all know that these lotteries are selling dreams and instant life chasnce, but there are actual people winning and people changing their lives because of the lottery, there's no logic or explanation needed because people will bet on something that will make them financially free, and it only worth $0.50 to bet in a lottery here so why not go for something that is cheap and could possibly change your life

Strange thing is that, allegedly, a lot of lottery winners, would go broke after winning big, some media articles quote even 70% of them, and they wished they had never won. I take that with a grain of salt though, as there doesn't seem to be any credible source for that number (some other sources claim that 'only' a third of winners would go broke).

It is surprisingly high that many go back or even worst than their initial situation before won the lottery.  It is possible that these people are not mentally, and emotionally prepare to have such kind of money, making these people to have a spending spree until they spend all their winnings.

But the reality is, such lotteries usually have way worse odds than any casinos or gambling sites. So, mathematically speaking, you're better off gambling your money there.

I once asked this, to 10 bettors and they have the same answer, and that's "It's none of my business, and it's their money"

People tend to get very defensive when you challenge their actions and they cannot come up with any reasoning.

They are into regret and asking them why look like we are putting salt to the wound.


For me lottery isn't a waste of time because if a person win, it will be a lifechanging for him.  I am  on neutral on this since I don't buy lottery tickets it doesn't mean that I am against the idea of winning it big and the one-time big-time event in a person's life.

[AmoreJaz]

But the reality is, such lotteries usually have way worse odds than any casinos or gambling sites. So, mathematically speaking, you're better off gambling your money there.

Thoughts?

Odds are close to impossible which means that you do need all the luck of this world for you to be able to hit up the jackpot which is something that it is really hard or something that couldnt happen even if you do tend to buy up tickets for the rest of your life.If it wasnt really meant for you then hitting those combinations would really be not that something that you should hope for because it would really just make you
that annoyed or disappointed every draw results just because your number combinations didnt hit.Its not bad to spare up some amount for tickets but this is something that wont really be resulting into
huge spending where 1-2 tickets everyday wasnt that so bad but its up into yours.Mathematically speaking about odds then it would be understandable if you do make out some comparison.
Lesser risks then less money would be gained and vice versa.

it is understandable why based from the poll, most voted for never or almost never. as they know their chances, they are not spending money on this game. but there are people who are indeed betting on lotteries all throughout their lifetime, where they allot money on this game. they have certain numbers that they are always taking care of.
i guess, it is up to your preferences on this matter. most are just spending it to other basic needs. but for lottery patrons, they won't be considering this as a waste of money.

[minime0105]

We can not conclude or take decision to some people the way I'm seeing it, so i believe that gamblling is a game of choice and interest, some people doesn't like playing lottery kind of game the way I'm seeing it, and another thing is that gamblling have varieties, someone that like casino kind of gamblling may not like to participate in lottery kind of gambling and also a poker kind of gambling or soccer gambling, so it's a game of specialty and personal interest.

[Jemzx00]

Do you play national lottery games (Powerball, EuroMillions, Lotto etc)?

Yes, I rarely play lottery games whenever I feel too lucky or unlucky on my daily life basis but not for fun rather to test whether I'll get a chance of winning due to continuous luck I experience or I maybe able to turn things sideways whenever I feel too unlucky.

But the reality is, such lotteries usually have way worse odds than any casinos or gambling sites. So, mathematically speaking, you're better off gambling your money there.
Thoughts?

Yes, Lotteries maybe one of the gambling games that has the worst odds out there which is why most people even tell that you're likely to get hit by a lightning twice than winning one of those, but I don't think it's fair to compare it to normal casino games such as dice, slots and card games. Normal casino games are not the same with lottery as lottery is mostly maxed out when it comes to its odd of winning as you only pay for a small amount in a chance of winning a tremendous prize.

[Saisher]

I'm in a country where the lotto is so popular in fact,  we have a lottery outlet on almost every corner of our city or municipality, this is popular in a country that can be considered the third world because this is one of their great hope to get out of poverty, I'm betting on the lottery and I support this because part of the profit goes to a government department that takes care of the health sector which I once a beneficiary, the citizen in our country has a very high trust in a lottery system in our country.

[libert19]

But the reality is, such lotteries usually have way worse odds than any casinos or gambling sites. So, mathematically speaking, you're better off gambling your money there.

Thoughts?

That's right. And suppose, even if one were to win in lottery, such money wouldn't stay without financial knowledge.

"You don't become smart investor when you win the lottery".

Knowing the odds, it's stupidity to get into lottery buying. You are better of investing that change.

[peter0425]

actually not me but my wife?

Yes , She is the one who giving me a number  and I am the one to bet in Lottery meaning  we are both doing it 

but sad to say? never that we won any big amount instead mostly returning my bet , also buying some scratch card? but again loser 

[Odusko]

actually not me but my wife?

Yes , She is the one who giving me a number  and I am the one to bet in Lottery meaning  we are both doing it 

but sad to say? never that we won any big amount instead mostly returning my bet , also buying some scratch card? but again loser 

You and your wife could one day become lucky to hit it big and walking away with big prize, sometimes we may not know how lucky and magical women hands are and if there give their support to their husbands I believe the husband will have luck on their side.
I know a couple that was so lucky with the American lottery some year back, the wife bought an American lottery ticket and luck found them they won a big prize that involve relocation to America and all expenses were paid 100% the woman was praised for that.
Who knows your own may be something similar to that, and all the best as you continue to play the lottery and happy new year to you and your family.

[Poker Player]

Do you play national lottery games (Powerball, EuroMillions, Lotto etc)?

Yes but very rarely, and I am not pinning my hopes for an improvement in my financial situation on them. I improve economically in a slow and boring way.

But the reality is, such lotteries usually have way worse odds than any casinos or gambling sites. So, mathematically speaking, you're better off gambling your money there.

Mathematically speaking, you are better off not playing anything in the casino and investing that money instead. Unless you are talking specifically about poker and sports betting where with patience, effort and good bankroll management you can have long term profits.

[Bitinity]

Depends on how someone play it imo, if someone play it regularly with small money only, I think it is not waste of time. But if someone force himself to play it every single day without any limit because s/he tries to get better winning chance, it is not only waste of time but also waste of money. Even though there is chance to win huge amount but still someone should not force himself to always play.

[lienfaye]

I rarely bet on lottery and this only happen everytime I have numbers in mind that i'd like to bet on. But I know many people (including my relatives) who are betting in national lottery regularly because of the life changing jackpot prize. Well, I don't think it's a waste of time because even your chance is one in a million, still, it's a chance and who knows right? Moreover the amount of ticket is cheap so it's not a pain even you're doing it regularly. It might be a waste of time and money for others but for some of us it's a hope and I don't see any problem with that as long as they can still live well even they're spending a portion of their money to buy tickets

[Fivestar4everMVP]

Most people are not satisfied with their lives and they need some sort of hope for the future to keep going and to prevent themselves from turning into crime, falling into depression etc. However messed-up your life might be, there's still hope that buying a cheap lottery ticket could potentially turn you into a millionaire (or even a billionaire) overnight. That's a powerful tool.

You are absolutely right with this assumptions, the government know how big the gambling market is, and they know how most the citizens, most especially the average and middle class citizens resort to gambling as a way to possibly earn some extra income or take their short at becoming millionaires and even billionaires.

And just like you said, the government in their craftiness, master how to use the craving of the citizens against them through national lottery, by this, they make more money from the citizens and at the same time, make the citizens believe that the government is actually giving back to them since from time to time, they would announce that some one somewhere won millions in the lottery, this gives hope to those loosing it and as well bring in more citizens into playing the game.
it is indeed a one of a kind deception if you ask me.

But the reality is, such lotteries usually have way worse odds than any casinos or gambling sites. So, mathematically speaking, you're better off gambling your money there.

I personally have not played a national lottery before and never will, i am better off gambling on a casino than playing a national lottery, i can imagine a game that millions of citizens play, yet, a winner is only announced once or twice in three months, and most times, this winners are faceless, this means there is no way to truely know if the winning is real or fake.

[worle1bm]

I always try to play on it with 1 ticket and my dad already plays on it for more than 40 years and he will continue to do it as he still hopes to one day win the big lot. Years ago he was so close but instead of winning millions he won a couple of grand which is also not so bad.

I also know some people who are trying these lotteries for so many years but their luck has not benefitted them for all these years.But personaly have tried it once and not gained anything out of it so dropped the idea for it and happy with regular gambling.

[CryptoYar]

In my country, it is not called a lottery ticket but it is called a Prize bond, with which you won't lose anything. That is if you buy a bond and in the next few draws you don't win you can get your money back by visiting the bank.
People who prefer to hold fiat also hold such prize bonds because they know they can exchange for fiat whenever they want. But as long as they have it, they will have a chance to win a big money.

[xSkylarx]

I found it offensive, but those people who bet on lottery are still gamblers even though the odds are small and they only bet a small amount. as long as they risk money to have a chance to make a big amount of money. You are kind of pointing out that gamblers are just the ones who bet big on casinos.

I lived in Asia, where lottery is very popular and most people bet on it just to try their luck, but yes, the odds are low, but you have a slight percentage to win on this, and also the owners of the lottery here are most of their profit is donated to charity and given back to people who need financial assistance.For us, it isn't a waste of time since we are really winning on this and it really could change their life.

[EarnOnVictor]

We can not conclude or take decision to some people the way I'm seeing it, so i believe that gamblling is a game of choice and interest, some people doesn't like playing lottery kind of game the way I'm seeing it, and another thing is that gamblling have varieties, someone that like casino kind of gamblling may not like to participate in lottery kind of gambling and also a poker kind of gambling or soccer gambling, so it's a game of specialty and personal interest.

Yes, our interests matter, this is about choice and what we want that would please us. I would say that playing the national lottery is not a bad thing, there is no big deal in it too as the money to play it are so low, and who knows, you might be the lucky winner one day. And you know what that means, it means that you might change your status for life with just a risk of a little amount of money.

[iv4n]

I play the lottery, but in the last 5-6 years rarely. I think I found some fun in crypto lotteries so somehow I stopped with the national lottery. Now with family and many important "dates" throughout the year maybe I should start playing it from week to week with the same numbers, I find it interesting... I guess we have all heard of people who are doing that. Before, and now in crypto, I randomly choose numbers, of course, the ones I like, but I never had some long-playing streaks with exactly the same numbers.

So, basically, it's about whether it's interesting for you or not... it's not stupid or smart, and it's not a waste of time. It's just about doing what you like and what is interesting for you. And I guess it's especially interesting for us who like to watch how they pull out numbers.

[Porfirii]

I found it offensive, but those people who bet on lottery are still gamblers even though the odds are small and they only bet a small amount. as long as they risk money to have a chance to make a big amount of money. You are kind of pointing out that gamblers are just the ones who bet big on casinos.

I lived in Asia, where lottery is very popular and most people bet on it just to try their luck, but yes, the odds are low, but you have a slight percentage to win on this, and also the owners of the lottery here are most of their profit is donated to charity and given back to people who need financial assistance.For us, it isn't a waste of time since we are really winning on this and it really could change their life.

Well, about gambling, I think that the idea we should focus on is that even if everyone who places a bet or plays lottery at least once could be named gambler, in fact the risks associated to one kind of gambler (online casinos) and the other (person who hardly ever plays national lottery) are not usually the same.

This is a good point: even though most legit betting services pay taxes on their income (and winners should too), when we talk about national lotteries, apart from these taxes, an important percentage of the income goes directly to the Government, which can be good if it is invested in social aid and services like education and health, or not so good if the regime one lives in is totalitarian.

[Mauser]

Do you play national lottery games (Powerball, EuroMillions, Lotto etc)?

Yes I play the national lottery from time to time. Winning the lottery is such a rare event that I am not really believing in it, but whenever there is new very high jackpot I start dreaming again. Playing every week lottery is too expensive and will not lead to big wins, in my opinion its best to only play with high jackpots as you get the most money if you ever would win. The main motivation for me playing lottery is not winning the jackpot but rather the fear of missing out of a win. All my friends play the lottery and we usually tip together whenever the jackpot is full. It's kind of peer pressure to join them, because the worst thing would be that all my friends win the lottery and become millionaire and don't get anything of it.

[GigaBit]

We can not conclude or take decision to some people the way I'm seeing it, so i believe that gamblling is a game of choice and interest, some people doesn't like playing lottery kind of game the way I'm seeing it, and another thing is that gamblling have varieties, someone that like casino kind of gamblling may not like to participate in lottery kind of gambling and also a poker kind of gambling or soccer gambling, so it's a game of specialty and personal interest.

Yes, our interests matter, this is about choice and what we want that would please us. I would say that playing the national lottery is not a bad thing, there is no big deal in it too as the money to play it are so low, and who knows, you might be the lucky winner one day. And you know what that means, it means that you might change your status for life with just a risk of a little amount of money.

The National Lottery is undoubtedly an opportunity. If the luck is very good then it is possible to win many unfulfilled dreams of life can be fulled by winning this lottery. The price of this lottery is relatively low but the prize is quite large. Winning such a lottery is not very common. Moreover, due to lack of publicity, people do not know much about the results or winners of this lottery. Due to which people are losing interest in it day by day. An advantage in gambling is when you are betting you are either getting a return or losing it all. People prefer gambling more than national lottery because of getting its results immediately.

[crzy]

Do you play national lottery games (Powerball, EuroMillions, Lotto etc)?

Most of the time before but since the pandemic started, I was able to escape such addiction and stop placing a bet for a while.
Playing on a lottery is not just a waste of time but also a waste of money, you will only realize this when you already spend a lot of money on that lottery. Imagine, playing for at least $1 a day can still be big money for the whole year, what more to other better who are spending a lot for many years already.

[pawel7777]

I always try to play on it with 1 ticket and my dad already plays on it for more than 40 years and he will continue to do it as he still hopes to one day win the big lot. Years ago he was so close but instead of winning millions he won a couple of grand which is also not so bad.

My old man also played the lotto his whole adult life. He managed to hit the 2nd prize twice, but obviously still spent more (by far) on tickets than he earned in winnings.

I play my national weekly lottery for the simple reason that a ticket costs just 2 dollars,...

But why wouldn't you just take that $2 and auto-bet it i.e. on a 1% dice. You could still win a few $millions (depending on site's budget that is) but at much better odds. Is it just because of time and convenience?

They have the worse odds but they do not make anyone addicted,we have to wait on Saturday when the lottery is being shown in TV so as long as someone has such ticket there is no need to go to the casino,of course there are a lot of people who buy such tickets and who never go to the casino or gamble so in this sense they are smart for me.

There are plenty of people who spend small fortunes on lottery tickets regularly. I agree that's probably a bit different kind of addiction than addiction to physical casinos and similar gambling (as the latter are more dopamine-based addictions) but it could still cause some financial damage if left out of control.

I found it offensive, but those people who bet on lottery are still gamblers even though the odds are small and they only bet a small amount. as long as they risk money to have a chance to make a big amount of money. You are kind of pointing out that gamblers are just the ones who bet big on casinos.
...

Are you referring to my OP? What's offensive about that?
And no, I'm saying the opposite - that lottery is also a type of gambling.

Here in the Philippines, we have all types of lotteries nationwide. A national lottery run by the government that promises to use the collected bets for charities, medical assistance, etc.
...

I think it's a similar theme in most other countries as well. You could argue that this makes such lotteries more "moral" than other types of gambling, but I still find it a bit hypocritical when country bans most/all of gambling but encourages and profits from state-controlled lottery.
So far the poll is split 50/50 between lottery players and non-players. I expected players to be dominant tbh

[Dr.Bitcoin_Strange]

Imagine, playing for at least $1 a day can still be big money for the whole year, what more to other better who are spending a lot for many years already.

Some people gamble away a lot of money in a regular casino, unless they are winning quite often. Summing up their losses, it's a lot of money in a year. This lottery is a waste of time, but they allow the low-class gamblers to bet with a very small amount. There is one lottery company in my country that allows people to bet with as little as $0.05. I tried it once, but that was also my last time. Gambling is just what it is; at the end of the year, gamblers lose quite a lot of money if summed up, even without realizing it.

Most people are not satisfied with their lives and they need some sort of hope for the future to keep going and to prevent themselves from turning into crime, falling into depression etc. However messed-up your life might be, there's still hope that buying a cheap lottery ticket could potentially turn you into a millionaire (or even a billionaire) overnight. That's a powerful tool

How about you see it from a different angle? Most people are so unfortunate, and life is so unfair to them. No matter how hard they try, things seem not working out for them. To protect themselves from immorality and illegality, they go into cheap lottery games with the hope of winning a jackpot that can turn their lives around. Like you said, most are not satisfied with their lives; that's correct, but also many don't even have anything to make them satisfied; they beg to feed; they depend 100% on others to survive; and they are under other bad circumstances. They just look for a way to break through those unforseen circumstances, and all they think of is buying cheap lottery tickets in the hope of winning the jackpot.

[noormcs5]

We can not conclude or take decision to some people the way I'm seeing it, so i believe that gamblling is a game of choice and interest, some people doesn't like playing lottery kind of game the way I'm seeing it, and another thing is that gamblling have varieties, someone that like casino kind of gamblling may not like to participate in lottery kind of gambling and also a poker kind of gambling or soccer gambling, so it's a game of specialty and personal interest.

Yes, our interests matter, this is about choice and what we want that would please us. I would say that playing the national lottery is not a bad thing, there is no big deal in it too as the money to play it are so low, and who knows, you might be the lucky winner one day. And you know what that means, it means that you might change your status for life with just a risk of a little amount of money.

The National Lottery is undoubtedly an opportunity. If the luck is very good then it is possible to win many unfulfilled dreams of life can be fulled by winning this lottery. The price of this lottery is relatively low but the prize is quite large. Winning such a lottery is not very common. Moreover, due to lack of publicity, people do not know much about the results or winners of this lottery. Due to which people are losing interest in it day by day. An advantage in gambling is when you are betting you are either getting a return or losing it all. People prefer gambling more than national lottery because of getting its results immediately.

I never trust National Lotteries, rather i do not trust any sort of lotteries. Some times i think that lotteries are just a way to collect money from the innocent gamblers.
In every lottery, there is a small contribution which you have to make in order to qualify in the lottery. People easily participate in these lotteries as they have to spent little money but the reward is enormous. However, most lotteries are fake and we never know if they were fairly rewarded.

[qwertyup23]

But the reality is, such lotteries usually have way worse odds than any casinos or gambling sites. So, mathematically speaking, you're better off gambling your money there.

Thoughts?

But millions of people choose to ignore or do not know this, all they know is this is their ticket to escape poverty and change their life, even if it's almost impossible to hit the jackpot, we also have a lottery here and we have 9 games held daily because we supported our lottery because it is government-run and the proceeds of the profit are being used by our government in the health sector and for social welfare.
I play the lotto often, and I know that it's almost impossible to hit the jackpot but I support our government-run lottery because of the benefits our poor people are getting.

I think this is more of testing one's luck given the amount of money a person can potentially win. Though you are right that the odds are worse, but imagine that if you hit the jackpot, this could definitely alter wholly your lifestyle and make big changes within the whole family.

Again, I doubt that it is a waste of time given that the amount of money being wagered is not that huge compared to normal gambling. Plus, everyone can participate in this kind of venture and not call themselves as "gamblers" unlike if you actually visit a casino and bet huge amounts.

[Hispo]

At least with casinos and gambling in general, one can prepare oneself mentally into having low expectations and just trying to enjoy the thrill and entertainment of a normal gambling session. National Lotteries are different, the entertainment factor is almost non-existent in my opinion and one could argue it is mostly about the expectation of profit. Obviously, the odds are microscopic.

I do not completely dislike lotteries but I would not buy tickets. In my eyes it is a kind of a waste of money.

[BobK71]

We can not conclude or take decision to some people the way I'm seeing it, so i believe that gamblling is a game of choice and interest, some people doesn't like playing lottery kind of game the way I'm seeing it, and another thing is that gamblling have varieties, someone that like casino kind of gamblling may not like to participate in lottery kind of gambling and also a poker kind of gambling or soccer gambling, so it's a game of specialty and personal interest.

Yes, our interests matter, this is about choice and what we want that would please us. I would say that playing the national lottery is not a bad thing, there is no big deal in it too as the money to play it are so low, and who knows, you might be the lucky winner one day. And you know what that means, it means that you might change your status for life with just a risk of a little amount of money.

The National Lottery is undoubtedly an opportunity. If the luck is very good then it is possible to win many unfulfilled dreams of life can be fulled by winning this lottery. The price of this lottery is relatively low but the prize is quite large. Winning such a lottery is not very common. Moreover, due to lack of publicity, people do not know much about the results or winners of this lottery. Due to which people are losing interest in it day by day. An advantage in gambling is when you are betting you are either getting a return or losing it all. People prefer gambling more than national lottery because of getting its results immediately.

I never trust National Lotteries, rather i do not trust any sort of lotteries. Some times i think that lotteries are just a way to collect money from the innocent gamblers.
In every lottery, there is a small contribution which you have to make in order to qualify in the lottery. People easily participate in these lotteries as they have to spent little money but the reward is enormous. However, most lotteries are fake and we never know if they were fairly rewarded.

People's trust in lottery is very low while expectations are high. I have purchased such lotteries several times in my life where I won nothing. When i bought that lottery, assumed i would win but finally get nothing. I bought it because of a hidden interest in my mind. But now I haven't bought any kind of lottery for a long time now and i won't buy again in the future. I know that buying the lottery is a waste of money and time as well.

[tjtonmoy]

I used to buy lottery in small events and festivals. Hoping to win something in the process. But my luck was never that good to get me a prize from those. You need to be super lucky in order to win one. After all those years of joining those lotteries and never managed to win one had made me feel like that this ain't it. I am not supposed to win any, and these are not meant for me.
I haven't bought any lottery for like 4/5 years. I don't see any profit from it, so it's better to avoid it at all cost.

[darkangel11]

Oh, I see I'm in the majority (voted never). Good to know people don't get caught up in these games.
They're a waste of time. Your chances of winning are like those of you getting hit by a lightning twice
The way lotteries are made you get lured in by a very high win and a very low cost of a ticket and in your mind this makes it a good deal. It takes advantage of people who can't do math.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

Oh, I see I'm in the majority (voted never). Good to know people don't get caught up in these games.
They're a waste of time. Your chances of winning are like those of you getting hit by a lightning twice
The way lotteries are made you get lured in by a very high win and a very low cost of a ticket and in your mind this makes it a good deal. It takes advantage of people who can't do math.

Absolutely correct, majority of people that play lotteries do so because the reward is always high when compared to the amount of money they are to put in, but they tend to forget that their odd of winning as well is extremely low.
Those who benefit the most from lotteries are the organizers and them alone, i personally think lotteries are just a way to rip gamblers off, though gamblers dont spend much, but when we calculate the amount of money collectively contributed by the players to the lottery pot, you know that the organizers are indeed the ones making all the money.

[Ojima-ojo]

Oh, I see I'm in the majority (voted never). Good to know people don't get caught up in these games.
They're a waste of time. Your chances of winning are like those of you getting hit by a lightning twice
The way lotteries are made you get lured in by a very high win and a very low cost of a ticket and in your mind this makes it a good deal. It takes advantage of people who can't do math.

Absolutely correct, majority of people that play lotteries do so because the reward is always high when compared to the amount of money they are to put in, but they tend to forget that their odd of winning as well is extremely low.
Those who benefit the most from lotteries are the organizers and them alone, i personally think lotteries are just a way to rip gamblers off, though gamblers dont spend much, but when we calculate the amount of money collectively contributed by the players to the lottery pot, you know that the organizers are indeed the ones making all the money.

That is why it is called a lottery and the reward is not expected to be small, it should be something life changing otherwise is can be referred to as the lottery.

Sometimes, the lottery is also referred to as the jackpot which points to how high the rewaeds are, sometimes it involves 100 million dollars.

So such a huge amount is not easy to come by that is why casinos are constantly manipulating the system to let it favour the house over tickets.

[Dunamisx]

Playing lottery is a choice to make individually because i see now that gamblers don't go into that so much as before due to the slerk chances of winning, they believe much in sport or casino betting because one determines what he sees as outcome by himself than having unassured several attempts on lottery which may seems to them as a waste of time, those that seek for this kind of game are mostly the newbies in gambling that will want to have a starting point from somewhere.

[pawel7777]

Imagine, playing for at least $1 a day can still be big money for the whole year, what more to other better who are spending a lot for many years already.

Some people gamble away a lot of money in a regular casino, unless they are winning quite often. Summing up their losses, it's a lot of money in a year. This lottery is a waste of time, but they allow the low-class gamblers to bet with a very small amount. There is one lottery company in my country that allows people to bet with as little as $0.05. I tried it once, but that was also my last time. Gambling is just what it is; at the end of the year, gamblers lose quite a lot of money if summed up, even without realizing it.

Most people are not satisfied with their lives and they need some sort of hope for the future to keep going and to prevent themselves from turning into crime, falling into depression etc. However messed-up your life might be, there's still hope that buying a cheap lottery ticket could potentially turn you into a millionaire (or even a billionaire) overnight. That's a powerful tool

How about you see it from a different angle? Most people are so unfortunate, and life is so unfair to them. No matter how hard they try, things seem not working out for them. To protect themselves from immorality and illegality, they go into cheap lottery games with the hope of winning a jackpot that can turn their lives around. Like you said, most are not satisfied with their lives; that's correct, but also many don't even have anything to make them satisfied; they beg to feed; they depend 100% on others to survive; and they are under other bad circumstances. They just look for a way to break through those unforseen circumstances, and all they think of is buying cheap lottery tickets in the hope of winning the jackpot.

I fail to see how's that angle any different.
What I wrote was not a critic of people who are not (fully) satisfied with their lives, nor did I say it's their own fault. Whatever the reason is, the point still stands, lotteries are useful tools to sell hope to the masses and to help maintain order in society.

But if you want to go there - allowing yourself of having a victim mentality (aka "it's never not my fault, it's because of XYZ") you are doomed to fail. You're wiring your brain into looking for excuses and rationalising your shortcomings, instead of taking up initiative and trying to take control of your life.

[blockman]

I rarely bet on it but I get to see the updates of it from time to time on how much is the jackpot every time no one has won the combination of numbers.
Actually, it's an exciting thing these days because of how huge the pool and the jackpot is. Still, I'm not encouraged to bet on it because of how low my esteem I am and lost enthusiasm for it. I can't imagine myself winning that big and the chances are really low so, I just let the others bet on it and just waiting for someone or a group of people to hit the lucky numbers.

[Desmong]

Playing lottery is not really my thing because it can be very hard to win because the house has the power to decide what game is going to win and what game is not going to win. This is why I prefer sport bets that national lottery that can be very difficult to win. There are some people who enjoy it but for me, I don't see myself winning.

[Crypto Library]

I usually don't play much lottery but in my personal view I will also not call it waste of time or smart.
I see it as a normality like other gambling, because I think that gambling is completely dependent on luck, so lottery is also completely dependent on luck so I will not compare it between waste of time or smart. Because if it is a waste of time then other gambling will be the same in my view.

[Slow death]

I don't play the lottery because, despite the price of the lottery ticket being very cheap, I keep thinking about the following: I buy 1 lottery ticket and I'm counting on luck to win, but in terms of the probability of that happening, they are very low , but people who have a lot of money and buy 1000 lottery tickets have much greater chances of winning and they are not cheating because nothing prevents them from buying a lot of tickets, at that time I think that people with a lot of money will win

because as they buy a lot of tickets then their chances of winning increases a lot, and as they have several trades even if they don't win anything the next day some of their trades will give them a big profit that will cover the money they will spend when they buy a ticket, that's a cycle where the guys with the most money are the winners

That's why people with little money buy tickets and keep saying they're waiting for luck, because they know that the rich have already bought many tickets and that they can count on a lot of advantage. I don't see any advantage in buying lottery tickets, the lottery itself is a game that I don't like, I don't like games that depend on luck, in the casino I just prefer sports betting

[Fredomago]

Playing lottery is a choice to make individually because i see now that gamblers don't go into that so much as before due to the slerk chances of winning, they believe much in sport or casino betting because one determines what he sees as outcome by himself than having unassured several attempts on lottery which may seems to them as a waste of time, those that seek for this kind of game are mostly the newbies in gambling that will want to have a starting point from somewhere.

Individual opinion and we all know that explanations will be different from each gamblers who takes it and those who don't, me personally, I don't take that kind of gamble not a fan of huge luck but who among us is not interested with huge millions? I bet there's none, but again, it will be depending on how you take your luck and how you want to spend your money.

I rarely bet on it but I get to see the updates of it from time to time on how much is the jackpot every time no one has won the combination of numbers.
Actually, it's an exciting thing these days because of how huge the pool and the jackpot is. Still, I'm not encouraged to bet on it because of how low my esteem I am and lost enthusiasm for it. I can't imagine myself winning that big and the chances are really low so, I just let the others bet on it and just waiting for someone or a group of people to hit the lucky numbers.

The jackpot is enticing nothing but hope that luck will back you up when you buy the ticket, but likewise, the winning chance is to slim with so many people around the place that also hoping with that same luck and the lucky combinations are rarely to combine correctly. It's lottery and your winning chance is lower than how you expect..

[decodx]

Well, deciding whether or not to play the lottery comes down to how you define "smart". If your goal is to become a millionaire overnight with minimal effort, then playing the lottery might not be the most effective strategy. But if you're looking for a little bit of harmless fun and the chance to dream big, then go for it! Just keep in mind that the odds of winning the jackpot are pretty slim, so don't bet the farm on it. While many people say that the lottery is a waste of money, others tell you that hundreds of millions of dollars are up for grabs each and every day. It's all about knowing why you're doing things, rather than just following them blindly because someone else said to do them. As for me, I will be playing at least a few dollars when I can spare it from my other hobbies, because I believe that it's harmless fun and helps jog my dreams a little bit.

[Jemzx00]

Well, deciding whether or not to play the lottery comes down to how you define "smart". If your goal is to become a millionaire overnight with minimal effort, then playing the lottery might not be the most effective strategy. But if you're looking for a little bit of harmless fun and the chance to dream big, then go for it! Just keep in mind that the odds of winning the jackpot are pretty slim, so don't bet the farm on it. While many people say that the lottery is a waste of money, others tell you that hundreds of millions of dollars are up for grabs each and every day. It's all about knowing why you're doing things, rather than just following them blindly because someone else said to do them. As for me, I will be playing at least a few dollars when I can spare it from my other hobbies, because I believe that it's harmless fun and helps jog my dreams a little bit.

Exactly, it might be useless or worthless for some but not to all since it doesn't really cost that much to bet on a lottery, and other than the winning jackpot, you can also have a chance of getting what you've paid for if you'll be hitting some of the numbers on it. I don't always play the lottery, but I sometimes do and it's a great feeling knowing you can be an instant millionaire if you ever win these things. Also, I doubt that people don't really know their chances when playing these but rather they just hope for once-in-lifetime luck on the lottery.

[bitterguy28]

it is not just waste of time but also waste of money and expectation , the feeling of being expecting for nothing? this will come eventually when you finally realized that you are betting for nothing to impossible .

I rarely bet in Lottery but yeah sometimes I am also one of those fool who wanted to be a instant millionaire lol .

[Hispo]

...
I rarely bet in Lottery but yeah sometimes I am also one of those fool who wanted to be a instant millionaire lol .

I once met a person who used to buy lottery tickets and had expectations, that is the worst kind of lottery player, in my opinion.
He wanted money, he did it for money and continued to spent money, as far as I know he never earned any money from a jackpot. He could have done better by rolling dices, if he wanted.

In the end, someone who regularly plays the lottery and never wins ends up losing an amount of money that could have been invested in a different way. Even playing bingo sounds more entertaining and social.

[btc78]

Rarely I am , My grandfather use to let me bet for Him as he had a harder walking so since he is a regular bettor then I do it for him till time comes that i love doing this on my own after He left us.

but now as I understand that he bet lottery for many decades and never become a jackpot winner? i realized that if I gather all those amount for that long? maybe I will become a millionaire for taking my money inside my pocket than giving to lottery outlets .

[kotajikikox]

If we are doing this just to try our luck once in a while? then I think we are not spending anything but small money but excessing our luck.

But if we are depending our life in this  chance of a life time and spending more than what it must ? then yes you are wasting your time and money and better stop it before losing more than what you can afford and also losing your future in betterment .

[wxa7115]

Topic and poll inspired by another thread - question:

Do you play national lottery games (Powerball, EuroMillions, Lotto etc)?

My view on big, often state-owned lotteries is they're designed mainly for 2 reasons: to make a profit and as a social tool that sells dreams of instant life change and massive wealth to the masses to keep them in line.

Most people are not satisfied with their lives and they need some sort of hope for the future to keep going and to prevent themselves from turning into crime, falling into depression etc. However messed-up your life might be, there's still hope that buying a cheap lottery ticket could potentially turn you into a millionaire (or even a billionaire) overnight. That's a powerful tool.

But the reality is, such lotteries usually have way worse odds than any casinos or gambling sites. So, mathematically speaking, you're better off gambling your money there.

Thoughts?

It is true that the odds of lotteries are terrible and it would make more sense to play any other game instead, however lotteries are very easy and passive to play unlike a game like poker in which you need to be highly involved so it is understandable that for some this is their favorite form of gambling.

And without a doubt the main motivator is the fact that if you just happen to be lucky your life will change forever as the profits are massive compared to your bet, personally I am not a fan but I will admit that I buy a ticket or two per year when the prize money is very high.

[autumnleaf]

Although I have never played the lottery or engaged in any gambling, I share everyone else's desire to win a million dollars right away. My father used to play the lottery, but he rarely won the grand prize. I explained to him that you can buy the accumulated money you bet from the lottery with something that generates passive income, but all he said was, "What if I get lucky and win the jackpot?" Now I see why individuals want to play the lottery because they enjoy the sense of having a possibility to win.

[Haunebu]

Am not really interested in such crazy lotteries since I have way more fun betting on sports where skill helps to a degree and casino games like Baccarat which have a way, way lower house edge in comparison.

Getting rich overnight is not exactly something that I crave, but would obviously love it if it actually happens to me sometime in the future.

[davis196]

My view on big, often state-owned lotteries is they're designed mainly for 2 reasons: to make a profit and as a social tool that sells dreams of instant life change and massive wealth to the masses to keep them in line.

I don't agree with this.
1.The government-owned lottery in my country is using a big part of it's revenue to fund national sports federations, not to make profits.
Many state-owned lotteries are using their revenue for charity projects or funding local theathers.
2.The "dream selling" part is done mostly by the casinos/sports betting platforms in the private gambling sector. From my point of view, the national state-owned lotteries aren't as good at marketing, in comparison to the private sector.
Perhaps the second reason for the existence of state-owned lotteries is that they keep a lot of people away from the more addictive forms of gambling. After all, lottery gambling is way more harmless than wasting your money in a casino and becoming a gambling addict.

[Fredomago]

Although I have never played the lottery or engaged in any gambling, I share everyone else's desire to win a million dollars right away. My father used to play the lottery, but he rarely won the grand prize. I explained to him that you can buy the accumulated money you bet from the lottery with something that generates passive income, but all he said was, "What if I get lucky and win the jackpot?" Now I see why individuals want to play the lottery because they enjoy the sense of having a possibility to win.

They share the same mindset of "what if", the kind of positivity that those people who keep buying lottery tickets and seek for that huge luck to win the jackpot. I mean, we all know that it's next to impossible if we will think differently, but since that there are people who got that lucky combination and win that huge pot.

People who wanted to experience that same luck will continue to chase and keep buying in the hope that they will get that winning combination and they will wake up being a millionaire.

[pawel7777]

My view on big, often state-owned lotteries is they're designed mainly for 2 reasons: to make a profit and as a social tool that sells dreams of instant life change and massive wealth to the masses to keep them in line.

I don't agree with this.
1.The government-owned lottery in my country is using a big part of it's revenue to fund national sports federations, not to make profits.
Many state-owned lotteries are using their revenue for charity projects or funding local theathers.
...

If the lottery is profitable and state owns it - the profits go to the government. Nothing incorrect here.
By "profit" I obviously didn't mean a distributable profit (as we see with private companies) that politicians could divide among themselves, but an income to the overall government owned funds. So by definition, all government "profits" should (at least in theory) go to good causes that are worth of public funding. You seem to automatically give the word "profit" some negative connotation for some reason.

The other angle is: the money is fungible, so it shouldn't really matter if any specific project is funded from the tax money or from lottery money. At the end of the day, it's funded by a public (government) funds. The reason they'd specifically assign lottery profits to charitable causes - is primarily to make people feel better about gambling on lottery, buy more tickets and therefore increase its profitability.

In short - I'm not saying that there's anything wrong in making profits from lotteries. I'd much rather have that than increased taxes. But it is what it is - they're selling a product that offers way less value for money than what other forms of gambling are offering.

...
2.The "dream selling" part is done mostly by the casinos/sports betting platforms in the private gambling sector. From my point of view, the national state-owned lotteries aren't as good at marketing, in comparison to the private sector.
...

And yet, there are more lottery players than other gamblers, by order of magnitude.
If the main reason for the people to participate is not the dream of getting rich - than what is it? Are they doing it mainly to sponsor good causes? Then why not just donate directly and save whole lot of money on the middle man and all the lottery-running costs? If you take the lottery away - what portion of participants would actually do that?

...
Perhaps the second reason for the existence of state-owned lotteries is that they keep a lot of people away from the more addictive forms of gambling. After all, lottery gambling is way more harmless than wasting your money in a casino and becoming a gambling addict.

That's like saying let's give everyone a beer to prevent them from drinking stronger alcohol.

[pawel7777]

Although I have never played the lottery or engaged in any gambling, I share everyone else's desire to win a million dollars right away. My father used to play the lottery, but he rarely won the grand prize. I explained to him that you can buy the accumulated money you bet from the lottery with something that generates passive income, but all he said was, "What if I get lucky and win the jackpot?" Now I see why individuals want to play the lottery because they enjoy the sense of having a possibility to win.

They share the same mindset of "what if", the kind of positivity that those people who keep buying lottery tickets and seek for that huge luck to win the jackpot. I mean, we all know that it's next to impossible if we will think differently, but since that there are people who got that lucky combination and win that huge pot.

People who wanted to experience that same luck will continue to chase and keep buying in the hope that they will get that winning combination and they will wake up being a millionaire.

Just a fun fact - in the UK, there's something called Premium Bonds where, instead of earning fixed interest, they offer a chance of winning money prizes. Each £1 is a separate bond that represent an entry to monthly prize draws. The winnings are tax-free.

Essentially if you deposit a larger amount (say from £10k up), with an average luck you should get around 3% AR. Which is at roughly at par with with traditional short-term bonds or saving accounts.

This is a great alternative for those who buy lottery tickets to have at least theoretical chance of winning big. You could buy a min. of £25 worth of bonds and do nothing, you'd still have a chance of winning every month, but you don't actually lose your money (excluding inflation and opportunity cost that is).

A bit more details on how PB compare to National Lottery:

https://www.themoneyedit.com/banking/savings/premium-bonds-vs-lottery-which-will-make-me-millionaire

Your chance of winning the jackpot on the National Lottery is one in 45 million in a week, significantly beating the 1 in more than 59 billion chance of winning £1m per £1 bond in a single month.

Of course, you have to have the minimum £25 in Premium Bonds and the more bonds you have, the more chance you have of winning.

But your chance of winning the jackpot on the National Lottery (remember, one in 45 million in a week) is greater than if you have £100 in Premium Bonds (one in 49 million). Once you’ve got more than a few hundred pounds in Premium Bond, your chance of becoming a millionaire is much higher with premium bonds than the National Lottery.

Plus you'll keep the money you deposit, unlike buying a lottery ticket.

If you prefer certainty, a savings account is always the safest bet. Right now Nationwide offers 5% on balances up to £1,500 for the first 12 months of opening Nationwide FlexDirect Current Account(opens in new tab). That’s a guaranteed £75 if you put in the maximum amount for the entire year.

[jgaonkar]

I did believe that before the pandemic playing the lottery is a waste of time and money too.  However, since there was a lot of time for nothing to do I just saw “Dear Lottery Results”, on the web and noticed that people are winning crores every day.  I just came to know from the link that the dear Nagaland lottery can make you win Rs. 1 crore at a time.  on the other hand, they declare it 3 times a day of 1cr each. The good thing about this lottery is, it's very much legal and anyone can buy it offline and online mode also.  until now my luck took me to win Rs. 9000/- once i.e 2nd prize.   L:ets see in the future, but the opportunity is huge.   

[Gozie51]

Most people are not satisfied with their lives and they need some sort of hope for the future to keep going and to prevent themselves from turning into crime, falling into depression etc. However messed-up your life might be, there's still hope that buying a cheap lottery ticket could potentially turn you into a millionaire (or even a billionaire) overnight. That's a powerful tool.

And what do you think will happen if already depressed or near depressed person pays a lottery ticket with high hope of winning and it turns out to be a failure? Lottery is same as gambling, it has no difference but just a type of gambling. As always the advise is not to put money that you can't bear the loss because when playing a lucky game you should know that you can lose all or you win and smile.

[Aanuoluwatofunmi]

Playing national lottery comes with it own advantages since some gamblers considers it a thing they can get luck through within a short interval with less fund being involved, it also comes in diverse means whereby one can handle the requirements for it within a little time space and make something big from it, lottery and gambling both has the opportunity they serve with every possible chances to make a win even though their proportions may differs from each other and the two aren't a waste of time since an opportunity lies in doing them but with different chances to making it through.

[Yatsan]

I don't but I understand those who does simply because they just depend on their luck even if they are aware that winning on lotteries is close to impossible unless you are lucky enough. But for sure they are having fun from doing such 'coz if they don't they'd stop the moment they are sick of losing which happens most of the time and to most of the bettors. For me who is into other type of gambling games would percieve it as a waste of time but we just do have our own preferences; we gamble on different ways but are all having the same goal which is to win.

Most people are not satisfied with their lives and they need some sort of hope for the future to keep going and to prevent themselves from turning into crime, falling into depression etc. However messed-up your life might be, there's still hope that buying a cheap lottery ticket could potentially turn you into a millionaire (or even a billionaire) overnight. That's a powerful tool.

And what do you think will happen if already depressed or near depressed person pays a lottery ticket with high hope of winning and it turns out to be a failure? Lottery is same as gambling, it has no difference but just a type of gambling. As always the advise is not to put money that you can't bear the loss because when playing a lucky game you should know that you can lose all or you win and smile.

Lotteries does not require that much of money unless you'd be computing all of your trials from it. Lottery is really a form of gambling in the first place. But unlike with the typical ones, a gambler won't be tempted to bet big time once, but continuously there's a difference I guess. The reason why many people are engaging into it is because of the low capital needed so I guess that won't hurt them as much as with poker and the likes.

[bitbollo]

I have never bought a lottery ticket in my life.
I consider it a waste of money, a vain hope, in short, something that "potentially gives the illusion of being able to win" but which on balance is really impossible to achieve... ok people like to dream but...

Many are inclined to gamble because they would like to change their lives, but statistically only a fraction manages to get a big result. If you count how many tickets are played and the number of people able to achieve a decent winning, you could realize how it is really impossible something like this.

I have found several news here in Italy about people not able to "handle these avalanches of money", and they have wasted big fortunes in a matters of a couple of years.

[ethereumhunter]

Most people are not satisfied with their lives and they need some sort of hope for the future to keep going and to prevent themselves from turning into crime, falling into depression etc. However messed-up your life might be, there's still hope that buying a cheap lottery ticket could potentially turn you into a millionaire (or even a billionaire) overnight. That's a powerful tool.

And what do you think will happen if already depressed or near depressed person pays a lottery ticket with high hope of winning and it turns out to be a failure? Lottery is same as gambling, it has no difference but just a type of gambling. As always the advise is not to put money that you can't bear the loss because when playing a lucky game you should know that you can lose all or you win and smile.

The person must learn that buying the lottery will not guarantee he will win easily because many people will think the same way. And only luck can really help him to win that lottery prize. He should learn to buy lotteries just for fun and not think about whether he will win or lose. So he bought the lottery just for the fun factor that could change his life if he won. That will allow him to enjoy the trip to buy the lottery and who knows how many draws he can win later. And if he doesn't win it, he should learn to smile and say next time I can get that lottery prize.

[pawel7777]

...

And what do you think will happen if already depressed or near depressed person pays a lottery ticket with high hope of winning and it turns out to be a failure? Lottery is same as gambling, it has no difference but just a type of gambling. As always the advise is not to put money that you can't bear the loss because when playing a lucky game you should know that you can lose all or you win and smile.

They buy another ticket? Even a homeless person can afford them once in a while.

But the point is not so much whether they actually win or lose. It's more about having that feeling that you "have something going on" in your life that has a potential of turning you're life around in an instant. I think that's what motivates lottery players the most. I don't expect any of them to actually have a serious expectation of winning a particular draw. It's just about that feeling of hope and + maybe some daydreaming of what will you do if you win. That itself has some serious potential of increasing resilience and lifting your mood up.

That's why I'm not against lotteries. I don't play them as I know the odds are just not there, but I think they have an overall positive impact on society (I could be wrong though).

[Hamphser]

But the reality is, such lotteries usually have way worse odds than any casinos or gambling sites. So, mathematically speaking, you're better off gambling your money there.

Thoughts?

Odds are close to impossible which means that you do need all the luck of this world for you to be able to hit up the jackpot which is something that it is really hard or something that couldnt happen even if you do tend to buy up tickets for the rest of your life.If it wasnt really meant for you then hitting those combinations would really be not that something that you should hope for because it would really just make you
that annoyed or disappointed every draw results just because your number combinations didnt hit.Its not bad to spare up some amount for tickets but this is something that wont really be resulting into
huge spending where 1-2 tickets everyday wasnt that so bad but its up into yours.Mathematically speaking about odds then it would be understandable if you do make out some comparison.
Lesser risks then less money would be gained and vice versa.

it is understandable why based from the poll, most voted for never or almost never. as they know their chances, they are not spending money on this game. but there are people who are indeed betting on lotteries all throughout their lifetime, where they allot money on this game. they have certain numbers that they are always taking care of.
i guess, it is up to your preferences on this matter. most are just spending it to other basic needs. but for lottery patrons, they won't be considering this as a waste of money.

A waste of money is simple considered into those things which arent really that giving off any benefit and since lottery betting could really give out that chance of changing their lives on hitting up the jackpot then

you are definitely right on what you had said.There are indeed patrons who do really still keep betting even they do know the odds or chances of hitting the jackpot is almost close to impossible.
This is why just let those people do on whatever they do like or want basing up on the situation that they are in because we do have different interest and approach when it comes to certain things.
It might really be looking non so interesting on betting on lotteries and its not something  you could enjoy but cant really deny on the possible things to happen once you do hit the jackpot
but you would really be that discourage if we do know the chances are really that so slim.

[Ojima-ojo]

it is not just waste of time but also waste of money and expectation , the feeling of being expecting for nothing? this will come eventually when you finally realized that you are betting for nothing to impossible .

I rarely bet in Lottery but yeah sometimes I am also one of those fool who wanted to be a instant millionaire lol .

Should we consider the lottery as a total waste of time and money, just like you made it look it isn't that bad and some people still get lucky to hit it big at some point?

Take the story of the CEO of FedEx for example,  the company had its turnaround from the money the CEO won from lottery tickets when the company was almost out of the capital to keep the company running.

So to some extent lottery is not a total waste of time and money, and if luck is on your side, the lottery can be the fastest way to hit it big.

[OgNasty]

As I’ve stated before… National lotteries are basically a tax on people who are bad at math. That’s the only way it should be viewed. In the US, our lotteries raise money for the school system, which is ironic considering that it is a tax on people who are bad at math. Few things in society make as much sense as using the lottery for education and I love the irony.

[danherbias07]

Waste of money, time, and effort.
I am the one going to the betting site for my Gramps bet and I know that every day he is wasting money on a bet that won't win even for a long time.
He got old doing this and yet I never saw him win even just 5 numbers in the lottery picks. He has "pet" numbers, he doesn't change them, same numbers every time I go to the lottery outlet until he passed.
I learned my lesson from that so I don't do what he did. It's a big legal scam but thankfully they are using some of that money for charity here in the PH.

[Mahanton]

As I’ve stated before… National lotteries are basically a tax on people who are bad at math. That’s the only way it should be viewed. In the US, our lotteries raise money for the school system, which is ironic considering that it is a tax on people who are bad at math. Few things in society make as much sense as using the lottery for education and I love the irony.

The worst thing of the national lottery that we do have in our place is that it should be tax free but those winners are obliged to be deducted with a tax on that winning amount which leaves out almost
half of the winnings because of the deductions.  Lotteries are indeed peoples money to be considered out as taxes but giving the huge portion into a certain winner but they do
already have deducted some out of those amounts.Its not a waste of time for many because they do think up about the opportunity.

I don't believe in national lottery, but there are many super active players who do and if they have a lot of hope of winning, I know some gentlemen over 60 years old and they love it and they say that instead of betting in internet casinos That I bet there in the lottery, it's the best they can do, that's how they tell me, it makes me laugh because they have a lot of faith, and they have spent a lifetime playing and playing in those lotteries, the worst thing is that they don't They don't like online casinos at all, they say that they can be robbed and that they won't risk their money, that they trust lotteries that are safe, they are very funny.

They dont like casinos because  they can be robbed or not totally literate on how things should be done? For sure if they do know the basic concepts and operation on how to play then they would really be finding out
to be interesting to play on online casinos but it is really much better to have that way so that they would really be able to avoid theirselves on playing too much and spending much money.
Just let them be on what they would gonna do and if they do find out that betting on national lotteries are entertaining or something that they really get used to then its up to their choice.
It is really just that there are people whom do stick on what they have been able to engage for long time specially on lotteries.

[pawel7777]

As I’ve stated before… National lotteries are basically a tax on people who are bad at math.
...

I wouldn't be that harsh on lottery players. If spending a few bucks a week or month makes someone feel better then there's no harm.
And if it's a tax, then it's a voluntary one - if that prevents them from increasing official taxes for everyone, then it's a good thing.

...
The worst thing of the national lottery that we do have in our place is that it should be tax free but those winners are obliged to be deducted with a tax on that winning amount which leaves out almost half of the winnings because of the deductions. 
...

That's just silly but I think that's the case in most countries. If you need to pay tax on gambling winnings then you should be able to deduct your losses from the taxable amount. Otherwise it's not fair.

[Victorik]

Topic and poll inspired by another thread - question:

Do you play national lottery games (Powerball, EuroMillions, Lotto etc)?

My view on big, often state-owned lotteries is they're designed mainly for 2 reasons: to make a profit and as a social tool that sells dreams of instant life change and massive wealth to the masses to keep them in line.

Most people are not satisfied with their lives and they need some sort of hope for the future to keep going and to prevent themselves from turning into crime, falling into depression etc. However messed-up your life might be, there's still hope that buying a cheap lottery ticket could potentially turn you into a millionaire (or even a billionaire) overnight. That's a powerful tool.

But the reality is, such lotteries usually have way worse odds than any casinos or gambling sites. So, mathematically speaking, you're better off gambling your money there.

Thoughts?

I don't think it's a smart move neither do I consider it as a waste of money either. It's a gamble, and a gamble is a game of chances. You could win or lose, depending on the odds.

Personally, I do not involve myself in such games, I have never played the lottery, because I feel that the chances of wining is just too small, so I stay away. But, sometimes someone can get lucky and win.

[Don Pedro Dinero]

Thoughts?

Try this site, it's a lottery simulator, you can try it high speed to see the results over the years:

https://www.cuandomevaatocar.com/en/

It shows you that in 99.9% of cases when people win a prize, which is usually a small prize, they have already spent more on the lottery than they win, so the net result is a loss. And the more time and more bets, the greater the loss, despite the fact that prizes continue to be won.

I play from time to time because of tradition and because even if it is a game with a negative expected value, it could give you a radical change in your life for a small amount.

As I’ve stated before… National lotteries are basically a tax on people who are bad at math. That’s the only way it should be viewed. In the US, our lotteries raise money for the school system, which is ironic considering that it is a tax on people who are bad at math. Few things in society make as much sense as using the lottery for education and I love the irony.

And you say that while advertising a casino? You could say the same about casinos. They are negative expected value games anyway, just because the casino gives you worse odds doesn't mean that in the long run you will lose money as well.

[rodskee]

If there is a small amount I can spend? instead of buying cigarettes ? i am using the money to buy lottery tickets  meaning as I don't wanna ruin my life from smoking(that i use to do for more than 10 years) at least putting this to try my luck is a best interest and that stands that it isn't a waste of time at all instead it is life saving in my case.

[Wexnident]

~

But that's definitely not a major factor here, I think it's got more to do with the mental perception of lottery Vs. other gambling.
For example, placing a small, combination bet on a large number of completely random sports events could give you the same potential winnings but at much better odds, and yet most people just prefer the lottery, probably because it doesn't have the stigma that other gambling has.

Yea definitely, there's probably a multitude of factors involved from perception of the activity to the rewards/odds to the gameplay itself, but we'd probably never finish the discussion since in the end, most questions can be answered by having a "personal preference".

If we were solely to compare lotteries to other types/forms of gambling, the hell lottery is by far the one with the most odds. BUT, it's also the one that gives the greatest possible turnarounds in life if won, that is until I watched a few videos of how a few lottery winners became bankrupt and came to an abrupt realization that maybe living my life just as it is is probably more than enough for me. . Note that this is only at the start, e.g. one chance to each (lottery, sports, casino), you'd get more from casinos, but as time goes on, you'd honestly lose in all cases, but casinos/sports would probably be able to return more, while lotteries won't.

[bitterguy28]

Topic and poll inspired by another thread - question:

Do you play national lottery games (Powerball, EuroMillions, Lotto etc)?

My view on big, often state-owned lotteries is they're designed mainly for 2 reasons: to make a profit and as a social tool that sells dreams of instant life change and massive wealth to the masses to keep them in line.

Most people are not satisfied with their lives and they need some sort of hope for the future to keep going and to prevent themselves from turning into crime, falling into depression etc. However messed-up your life might be, there's still hope that buying a cheap lottery ticket could potentially turn you into a millionaire (or even a billionaire) overnight. That's a powerful tool.

But the reality is, such lotteries usually have way worse odds than any casinos or gambling sites. So, mathematically speaking, you're better off gambling your money there.

Thoughts?

I don't think it's a smart move neither do I consider it as a waste of money either. It's a gamble, and a gamble is a game of chances. You could win or lose, depending on the odds.

well those who gambles in this area? does not have that thought of wasting because what they saw is the chance of earning and winning meaning positivities still lives on them even though how much they have lost over the years.

Personally, I do not involve myself in such games, I have never played the lottery, because I feel that the chances of wining is just too small, so I stay away. But, sometimes someone can get lucky and win.

never even once? well maybe you are brought of not having to gamble and sometimes in life? we need to gamble to  have opportunities in other areas of life.

[dothebeats]

I picked the wrong option but yeah, I play rarely - only if the jackpot reaches up to an absurd amount. I haven't picked up the affinity of my family members in betting for the lottery, but there are times that I want to give it a try and take a chance on my luck hoping to get something out of that chance that I take. Besides, tickets only cost less than a dollar in here, and a chance to get millions out of that few cents is too hard to pass. The only problem that I have with betting on our national lottery is that it's too inconvenient to bet because there are no online outlets unlike what they have in other countries. You really need to go out and bet physically on one of their authorized agents and sometimes, it takes too much of your time just to get one bet going.

[Solosanz]

National lottery or any other lottery in online casinos are wasting of times because you're only waiting a miracle happen, not only luck. In slots you could make money and it's easier than lottery, I prefer to win small amount in steady growth rather than waiting a huge money in one time only. I think the popularity of this kind lottery already decrease a lot after traditional casino and online casino exist.

[AicecreaME]

Considering the odds of winning the lottery, for me it's just a waste of time, effort, and most especially money. This gambling game is mainly based on luck. If we are to compute the probability of you winning the lottery, you'll have a 1 in a million possibility of winning the jackpot prize. This is because there are so many combinations possible, and the chances of you getting the exact numbers with those possible combinations is very slim. Hence, for me it's not a very smart way to use your money and time for.

Lottery's target market are those people who are just small time bettors who are trying their luck to have money quickly and in an easy way. Those people who are desperate, and those people who are just hopeful are the ones you will see taking their chances in lottery games. You will seldom encounter a big time gambling bettor betting in lottery because they know it is luck based and how small the chances of winning there is. Even if you are a skilled and knowledgeable gambler, you can't utilized it in lottery. This is one of the reasons why those who are after the thrill and fun aren't fond of betting in it.

[BobK71]

If there is a small amount I can spend? instead of buying cigarettes ? i am using the money to buy lottery tickets  meaning as I don't wanna ruin my life from smoking(that i use to do for more than 10 years) at least putting this to try my luck is a best interest and that stands that it isn't a waste of time at all instead it is life saving in my case.

Buying lottery depends on you and your financial condition. Generally, people of two stages refrain from purchasing lottery. If there is a good income source or there is a suitable way to use money, then many people are not encouraged to purchase lottery. And those who have to calculate the money correctly every month are not interested in the lottery. I think if there is no complaint or corruption on the results of the lottery and if you do not have any financial harm to the purchase of a few lottery, then I would say you can buy lottery regularly. If the wheel of your fate is good, you can get the opportunity to lead your life comfortably.

[arwin100]

National lottery or any other lottery in online casinos are wasting of times because you're only waiting a miracle happen, not only luck. In slots you could make money and it's easier than lottery, I prefer to win small amount in steady growth rather than waiting a huge money in one time only. I think the popularity of this kind lottery already decrease a lot after traditional casino and online casino exist.

Gambling doesn't give any assurance and you will not win if you didn't  take any bets, but I guess this depends how people look at it since same as you some other people might dislike it and some other will like it. And its just how people preferred on such thing since there are people willing to spend some time just to bet so that they might get a chance to win the jackpot which can change their life. Popularity of national lottery still popular since many people still betting on it especially when the jackpot prize became more bigger and bigger.

[len01]

National lottery or any other lottery in online casinos are wasting of times because you're only waiting a miracle happen, not only luck. In slots you could make money and it's easier than lottery, I prefer to win small amount in steady growth rather than waiting a huge money in one time only. I think the popularity of this kind lottery already decrease a lot after traditional casino and online casino exist.

lottery gambling has a very small chance of winning, only those who are really lucky can get that win or profit. to be honest, I myself don't like lottery gambling either, but sometimes I bet several times there to try my luck.
and we can't compare lottery with slot, because the two are really different. and for me slot also include gambling that has a small chance of getting a big win. to get even a small victory is very difficult.
but it all comes back to each gambler to choose where they will bet and make a profit.

[Fredomago]

What would I lose if I only bet a few cents in exchange for life-changing money if I ever hit a jackpot, we've seen people hitting a jackpot in a lottery this person could be you if you're betting even if the odds are very high we just never know, as long as the lottery I'm betting is fair every bettor on that lottery have a chance to win and change their life and become financially free, we sometimes have to take a chance, I believe in extreme lucky and sometimes it hit you when you least expect it.

It will if you are willing to gamble with your luck, no doubt that there are people who manage to win and change their lives after hitting the jackpot, but again, it will going  to depend with how willing you are in taking this kind of risk, who knows after betting you'll find out that luck comes up and allow you to win the jackpot without anyone to share the pot money.

If luck will let you win, there's no one who can stop it from changing your entire life in terms of financial status.

[erep]

Gambling doesn't give any assurance and you will not win if you didn't  take any bets, but I guess this depends how people look at it since same as you some other people might dislike it and some other will like it. And its just how people preferred on such thing since there are people willing to spend some time just to bet so that they might get a chance to win the jackpot which can change their life. Popularity of national lottery still popular since many people still betting on it especially when the jackpot prize became more bigger and bigger.

Every gambler has a different perception depending on their desire to get the jackpot, even though the lottery has a low winning potential but many gamblers try to get lucky in different ways, many gamblers win it even though it's not a big win that can change their life, but popularity lottery is still of interest to some gamblers, although many of them have switched to slot gambling, soccer betting and others, because they want big opportunities to win bets.

[Dunamisx]

If there is a small amount I can spend? instead of buying cigarettes ? i am using the money to buy lottery tickets  meaning as I don't wanna ruin my life from smoking(that i use to do for more than 10 years) at least putting this to try my luck is a best interest and that stands that it isn't a waste of time at all instead it is life saving in my case.

I agree with you that it's good for someone to use his money wisely and also spend it on something that could help better his life, in this opinion i will also buy in the idea to invest rather than wasting the money on something detriments to our body, lottery is not a waste of time as long as it interest you to give a try for your own luck, this is a good target to go for which can bring maximum opportunity out in applying for a national lottery, sometimes we don't try hard and give up on luck which is the similar thing applicable to lottery that some gamblers common-eyes it and missed the privilege it may gives but dont mind ruining their money on what they stand to gain nothing from than disaster and losses.

[Eureka_07]

If there is a small amount I can spend? instead of buying cigarettes ? i am using the money to buy lottery tickets  meaning as I don't wanna ruin my life from smoking(that i use to do for more than 10 years) at least putting this to try my luck is a best interest and that stands that it isn't a waste of time at all instead it is life saving in my case.

That's a good scenario however it's not the same with the main reason why people try their luck on lotteries.
For that case, it became reasonable because it potentially eliminates smoking (which is bad for health and can somehow can have a negative effect with people's money).
Above all, I agree and support this.
So id you guys have to choose between lottery and smoking, forget about cigarettes.

[virasisog]

If there is a small amount I can spend? instead of buying cigarettes ? i am using the money to buy lottery tickets  meaning as I don't wanna ruin my life from smoking(that i use to do for more than 10 years) at least putting this to try my luck is a best interest and that stands that it isn't a waste of time at all instead it is life saving in my case.

That's a good scenario however it's not the same with the main reason why people try their luck on lotteries.
For that case, it became reasonable because it potentially eliminates smoking (which is bad for health and can somehow can have a negative effect on people's money).
Above all, I agree and support this.
So if you guys have to choose between lottery and smoking, forget about cigarettes.

If it could replace vices then it will still be a good idea. Spending your funds in the lottery would be better than using them on vices that could affect your health. For me, there's nothing wrong with trying our luck in lotteries as long as we are not relying everything on it and we're still grinding hard to earn better. There's just a small chance of winning the lottery so I think putting all our hopes in it will only disappoint us but just like long-time lottery bettors, we can have a little hope that good things will still come if it's our time.

[notblox1]

Do you play national lottery games (Powerball, EuroMillions, Lotto etc)?

No I don't play national lottery, but I think I did play few times in my entire life.
I think that national lotteries are legal way for governments to take more money from people, as if all the rising taxes are not enough.
Let's say I win 1 million dollars in national lottery, than I would have to pay huge taxes on that amount and you win much less, it's like voluntary robbery.

[abel1337]

Do you play national lottery games (Powerball, EuroMillions, Lotto etc)?

No I don't play national lottery, but I think I did play few times in my entire life.
I think that national lotteries are legal way for governments to take more money from people, as if all the rising taxes are not enough.
Let's say I win 1 million dollars in national lottery, than I would have to pay huge taxes on that amount and you win much less, it's like voluntary robbery.

This is true but people like this and there are people who take chances on winning this kind of national lottery. I personally don't like joining in this and I'm the same as you that only tried it only for a few times, Majority of my tries is when I have a friend or a family member that made me come to the outlet and asked me to join them on betting. I have a family member who's doing daily betting on this national lottery and trying hard with his luck, It's a consistent thing he do and I can compare it to being a habit. I hope he knows the odds of winning it. Yep, It is one way of government getting a huge taxes on people on a legal way and people thinking it's fair enough given that majority of the joiner of this kind of event is not thinking about it or doesn't know about it. 

[Hamphser]

Do you play national lottery games (Powerball, EuroMillions, Lotto etc)?

No I don't play national lottery, but I think I did play few times in my entire life.
I think that national lotteries are legal way for governments to take more money from people, as if all the rising taxes are not enough.
Let's say I win 1 million dollars in national lottery, than I would have to pay huge taxes on that amount and you win much less, it's like voluntary robbery.

This is true but people like this and there are people who take chances on winning this kind of national lottery. I personally don't like joining in this and I'm the same as you that only tried it only for a few times, Majority of my tries is when I have a friend or a family member that made me come to the outlet and asked me to join them on betting. I have a family member who's doing daily betting on this national lottery and trying hard with his luck, It's a consistent thing he do and I can compare it to being a habit. I hope he knows the odds of winning it. Yep, It is one way of government getting a huge taxes on people on a legal way and people thinking it's fair enough given that majority of the joiner of this kind of event is not thinking about it or doesn't know about it. 

Honestly, i do have experience on betting on national lotteries and it did last for a couple of months and on the time i do realize that it is really that something too close to impossible on hitting the jackpot then it

do comes into a certain time that im tired on going into those lottery outlets to make a bet yet it do comes into my mind that it would be pointless and something that would be a waste of time
and stressful on expecting on something specially on hitting the jackpot.Yes, its absurd that you are expecting to make yourself hitting the jackpot but cant really be denied that those hopes are
really inside your mind and with your emotions and this what excites you whenever you do make out a bet, if you do miss out a certain draw and it do keeps happening any further then
you would really be feeling out that kind of discouraged.

[goldkingcoiner]

Playing national lottery is the largest waste of time and worst waste of money that you can think of, even for the most risky of gamblers. If you look at the probabilities, its just not worth it. The probability of winning is so tiny, getting hit by lightning, twice, is more probable.

Some people just do not seem to be able to understand the math behind the probabilities, I think that's the root of the problem. The lottery just makes it seem like an achievable goal. But thats marketing.

The reward is so large but too many people are going for it. It is national, so the entire nation is well aware. And yet how often do we hear of big winners?

Suffice it to say again, but lotteries are not worth the money, time or effort.

[BitcoinPanther]

Playing national lottery is the largest waste of time and worst waste of money that you can think of, even for the most risky of gamblers. If you look at the probabilities, its just not worth it. The probability of winning is so tiny, getting hit by lightning, twice, is more probable.

Some people just do not seem to be able to understand the math behind the probabilities, I think that's the root of the problem. The lottery just makes it seem like an achievable goal. But thats marketing.

The reward is so large but too many people are going for it. It is national, so the entire nation is well aware. And yet how often do we hear of big winners?

Suffice it to say again, but lotteries are not worth the money, time or effort.

Until you win.  It is worth the effort and money IMO, besides the money you bet on lottery won't make you any poorer or richer.  Even though this is a gamble, we are talking about one way of possibly changing one's life.  Besides, you also help the economy with your bet since the profit from national lottery is used for the country's development and charities.  I think the idea of helping the nation's development is enough to make it worth playing in a national lottery.

[Lanatsa]

Playing national lottery is the largest waste of time and worst waste of money that you can think of, even for the most risky of gamblers. If you look at the probabilities, its just not worth it. The probability of winning is so tiny, getting hit by lightning, twice, is more probable.

Some people just do not seem to be able to understand the math behind the probabilities, I think that's the root of the problem. The lottery just makes it seem like an achievable goal. But thats marketing.

The reward is so large but too many people are going for it. It is national, so the entire nation is well aware. And yet how often do we hear of big winners?

Suffice it to say again, but lotteries are not worth the money, time or effort.

If people would make out those calculations and find out the odds or chances then for sure they would really be losing that interest on betting on lotteries but once a person would be having in mind on getting rich once they do hit the jackpot then this is something that is really hard to be controlled or something that would really motivate you on making out bets even if its on daily basis.It all matters with your own mindset
and if emotion would also play out together with your mind then for sure you would be betting and wont minding on the time and money that would be spending out.So just let them be on what
are the things that they do because its their money to be used after all.

[QueenVera]

One thing I've learnt in this forum is never to get carried away by odds no matter how sure that game night be.
As long as there is life, there's supposed to be hope.
I see no way I should be playing national lottery and still have the boldness to think smart of such decisions easily in my country because I personally think most of this jackpots were preorganized and the winners selected based of favourism.
I  barely have to play national lotteries but when I do, I see it as my little way of contributing to the government because I think and feel that national lottery is a legal way of government of extorting  money from it's citizens.

[uneng]

I play only at freebitco.in's lottery, because the tickets come for free. Regards national lottery only my family and friends are adepts of that gambling modality. They say they have to try, especially the final draw of the year, which brings a more appetizing prize for the winner or winners. I tell them it's a waste of money, and that it gives nothing, but they keep trying for as long as I can remember.

Actually, national lottery is quite popular where I live. People make long rows in front of the lottery house to bet. And not surprisingly, it's a poor city where most people live with a minimum wage and heavily depend on third party welfare. That makes me feel they really have a wrong mindset for gambling and for finances in general and that the statement of OP is totally accurate: people see in the national lottery an opportunity to go from misery to richness overnight, doesn't matter how tiny the chances are.

[Fredomago]

Playing national lottery is the largest waste of time and worst waste of money that you can think of, even for the most risky of gamblers. If you look at the probabilities, its just not worth it. The probability of winning is so tiny, getting hit by lightning, twice, is more probable.

Some people just do not seem to be able to understand the math behind the probabilities, I think that's the root of the problem. The lottery just makes it seem like an achievable goal. But thats marketing.

The reward is so large but too many people are going for it. It is national, so the entire nation is well aware. And yet how often do we hear of big winners?

Suffice it to say again, but lotteries are not worth the money, time or effort.

If people would make out those calculations and find out the odds or chances then for sure they would really be losing that interest on betting on lotteries but once a person would be having in mind on getting rich once they do hit the jackpot then this is something that is really hard to be controlled or something that would really motivate you on making out bets even if its on daily basis.It all matters with your own mindset
and if emotion would also play out together with your mind then for sure you would be betting and wont minding on the time and money that would be spending out.So just let them be on what
are the things that they do because its their money to be used after all.

It is their money that they will use to buy lottery tickets and they are the ones who will decide. I see your point and yes, it is the person who will play or who will not play due to their personal reason. Things are different in terms of opinions and how they prefer to pick game with the gambling that they wanted to bet.

Lottery tickets, if you got lucky and you pick the right combination, will change your life the way all of us want to happen.

[bitterguy28]

Do you play national lottery games (Powerball, EuroMillions, Lotto etc)?

No I don't play national lottery, but I think I did play few times in my entire life.
I think that national lotteries are legal way for governments to take more money from people, as if all the rising taxes are not enough.
Let's say I win 1 million dollars in national lottery, than I would have to pay huge taxes on that amount and you win much less, it's like voluntary robbery.

that is exactly the point , this is justification that Government are legalizing Gambling just to take our money and not for anything that related to what we need , in this they try teach people to seek becoming instant millionaire instead of teaching them to work and pursue in life for better tomorrow.
and it is good that you are not playing this anymore because instead of betting why not keep the money and use for other investments .

[arwin100]

Gambling doesn't give any assurance and you will not win if you didn't  take any bets, but I guess this depends how people look at it since same as you some other people might dislike it and some other will like it. And its just how people preferred on such thing since there are people willing to spend some time just to bet so that they might get a chance to win the jackpot which can change their life. Popularity of national lottery still popular since many people still betting on it especially when the jackpot prize became more bigger and bigger.

Every gambler has a different perception depending on their desire to get the jackpot, even though the lottery has a low winning potential but many gamblers try to get lucky in different ways, many gamblers win it even though it's not a big win that can change their life, but popularity lottery is still of interest to some gamblers, although many of them have switched to slot gambling, soccer betting and others, because they want big opportunities to win bets.

The hype starting up when the jackpot prize became more bigger and this is announce on local new that's why many people still eager to bet on national lottery because many are hopeful to win the jackpot prize and dream about became instant millionaire with that. National lottery still in demand since they can accumulate billion of dollars in this industry, maybe the one' fading out is lottery held by casino since sometimes we can say that its really boring since we can only here a limited news about them.

[livingfree]

that is exactly the point , this is justification that Government are legalizing Gambling just to take our money and not for anything that related to what we need , in this they try teach people to seek becoming instant millionaire instead of teaching them to work and pursue in life for better tomorrow.
and it is good that you are not playing this anymore because instead of betting why not keep the money and use for other investments .

There's gotta be a reason why they've been allowing gambling, casinos and even a national type of lottery. They've been collecting money from the participants and every single draw, the prize pot is becoming bigger and keeps on increasing.

Well, AFAIK, it's not just all about gambling but there goes the funds where it's allotted whenever the pot isn't hit. They're not there just to take our money but it's a personal choice and decision that someone who bets for lottery freely and it's their free will.

[avp2306]

Lottery's target market are those people who are just small time bettors who are trying their luck to have money quickly and in an easy way. Those people who are desperate, and those people who are just hopeful are the ones you will see taking their chances in lottery games. You will seldom encounter a big time gambling bettor betting in lottery because they know it is luck based and how small the chances of winning there is. Even if you are a skilled and knowledgeable gambler, you can't utilized it in lottery. This is one of the reasons why those who are after the thrill and fun aren't fond of betting in it.

Rich people don't bet on lottery but rather majority of them spend their money on casino card games and slot.

Only poor people bet this because they want to get rich quickly.

Gambling doesn't give any assurance and you will not win if you didn't  take any bets, but I guess this depends how people look at it since same as you some other people might dislike it and some other will like it. And its just how people preferred on such thing since there are people willing to spend some time just to bet so that they might get a chance to win the jackpot which can change their life. Popularity of national lottery still popular since many people still betting on it especially when the jackpot prize became more bigger and bigger.

Even if no assurance but many take the slim chance because they think that it could make their dreams come true if they win the jackpot on the lottery.

[AicecreaME]

Lottery's target market are those people who are just small time bettors who are trying their luck to have money quickly and in an easy way. Those people who are desperate, and those people who are just hopeful are the ones you will see taking their chances in lottery games. You will seldom encounter a big time gambling bettor betting in lottery because they know it is luck based and how small the chances of winning there is. Even if you are a skilled and knowledgeable gambler, you can't utilized it in lottery. This is one of the reasons why those who are after the thrill and fun aren't fond of betting in it.

Rich people don't bet on lottery but rather majority of them spend their money on casino card games and slot.

Only poor people bet this because they want to get rich quickly.

Gambling doesn't give any assurance and you will not win if you didn't  take any bets, but I guess this depends how people look at it since same as you some other people might dislike it and some other will like it. And its just how people preferred on such thing since there are people willing to spend some time just to bet so that they might get a chance to win the jackpot which can change their life. Popularity of national lottery still popular since many people still betting on it especially when the jackpot prize became more bigger and bigger.

Even if no assurance but many take the slim chance because they think that it could make their dreams come true if they win the jackpot on the lottery.

Exactly what I'm pointing out.

Indeed, rich people do not waste their time in lottery because they have so much in their disposal. Rich people venture in different areas and fields that's why they have what they have and they can afford the lifestyle they want.

Poor to average people are the most patronizers of lottery because they want an easy way out from poverty. A ticket to success and being wealthy in a snap is what lottery means to them. These people keep on thinking that despite having a very slim chance of winning, if ever they'll be lucky enough to get the winning combinations, they'll instantly go rich and get back all the losses and failed attempts of betting which will be worth it on their end. In the end, it's still all a subjective matter because we have different preferences in life and we have different driving force in decision making.

[m2017]

Topic and poll inspired by another thread - question:

Do you play national lottery games (Powerball, EuroMillions, Lotto etc)?

My view on big, often state-owned lotteries is they're designed mainly for 2 reasons: to make a profit and as a social tool that sells dreams of instant life change and massive wealth to the masses to keep them in line.

Most people are not satisfied with their lives and they need some sort of hope for the future to keep going and to prevent themselves from turning into crime, falling into depression etc. However messed-up your life might be, there's still hope that buying a cheap lottery ticket could potentially turn you into a millionaire (or even a billionaire) overnight. That's a powerful tool.

But the reality is, such lotteries usually have way worse odds than any casinos or gambling sites. So, mathematically speaking, you're better off gambling your money there.

Thoughts?

If we make a small historical digression, then the lottery was invented in France in order to collect an additional tax. The treasury simply didn't have enough money. The lottery was called a "tax for fools." Modern governments also use lotteries to get extra money for the budget, and I won’t play lotteries for anything in the world, because the chance of winning is negligible, and I’m not very lucky.

[Peanutswar]

If there is a small amount I can spend? instead of buying cigarettes ? i am using the money to buy lottery tickets  meaning as I don't wanna ruin my life from smoking(that i use to do for more than 10 years) at least putting this to try my luck is a best interest and that stands that it isn't a waste of time at all instead it is life saving in my case.

I agree with you that it's good for someone to use his money wisely and also spend it on something that could help better his life, in this opinion i will also buy in the idea to invest rather than wasting the money on something detriments to our body, lottery is not a waste of time as long as it interest you to give a try for your own luck, this is a good target to go for which can bring maximum opportunity out in applying for a national lottery, sometimes we don't try hard and give up on luck which is the similar thing applicable to lottery that some gamblers common-eyes it and missed the privilege it may gives but dont mind ruining their money on what they stand to gain nothing from than disaster and losses.

In terms of addiction the lottery is the most ideal because first there's nothing it will risk on yourself besides from stress if you really take seriously in playing those games, next is the chance of winning for me this is a win win situation for a gambler, because cigarette just for addiction of makes you feel relief but not a millionaire, also lottery is one of the biggest known gambling really love by the people because of the large amount of prizepool. some of the gambler holding their numbers since they start in lottery games, sometimes if you didn't make a bet that's the time it shows so some of them every day doing this as part of their routine.

[rhomelmabini]

But the reality is, such lotteries usually have way worse odds than any casinos or gambling sites. So, mathematically speaking, you're better off gambling your money there.

Thoughts?

It has millions of combinations for you to hit it and I think I might have chance to win at slot compare here. People just wanted instantaneous money without doing much effort that is why they are turning into lotteries thinking it was the easiest way to go, yeah it was easiest one if you're lucky but likely difficult and expensive if not.

[Odusko]

But the reality is, such lotteries usually have way worse odds than any casinos or gambling sites. So, mathematically speaking, you're better off gambling your money there.

Thoughts?

It has millions of combinations for you to hit it and I think I might have chance to win at slot compare here. People just wanted instantaneous money without doing much effort that is why they are turning into lotteries thinking it was the easiest way to go, yeah it was easiest one if you're lucky but likely difficult and expensive if not.

It depend on the angle you may be looking at it from, to me there is not much difference between the two gambling and the lottery after all there both involve betting with your money, and is not as if lottery tickets cost that much some can just go a few bulks same with gambling such as football bets or playing slot in a machine.
The most important thing is that, once luck is on your side you can win at whatever game, gambling is gambling and there are no two ways about it.
If you want to avoid losing money then you should stay away from any form of gambling.

[rhomelmabini]

But the reality is, such lotteries usually have way worse odds than any casinos or gambling sites. So, mathematically speaking, you're better off gambling your money there.

Thoughts?

It has millions of combinations for you to hit it and I think I might have chance to win at slot compare here. People just wanted instantaneous money without doing much effort that is why they are turning into lotteries thinking it was the easiest way to go, yeah it was easiest one if you're lucky but likely difficult and expensive if not.

It depend on the angle you may be looking at it from, to me there is not much difference between the two gambling and the lottery after all there both involve betting with your money, and is not as if lottery tickets cost that much some can just go a few bulks same with gambling such as football bets or playing slot in a machine.
The most important thing is that, once luck is on your side you can win at whatever game, gambling is gambling and there are no two ways about it.
If you want to avoid losing money then you should stay away from any form of gambling.

I believe there's a way that you're at a slight advantage on gambling if it comes with having strategies and using your skills in it. I'm labeling lottery as a luck-based gambling considering you don't have any 1% chance to win on it.

That approach may work by just staying away, but losing money is not the way you win in the long run, most of these risky things involving money will definitely lose you money in the process anyways (stocks, real estate, crypto, etc.) For me, it's about the process and the learnings along the way that makes you a winner, losing isn't a bad thing at all tbh.

[EarnOnVictor]

We can not conclude or take decision to some people the way I'm seeing it, so i believe that gamblling is a game of choice and interest, some people doesn't like playing lottery kind of game the way I'm seeing it, and another thing is that gamblling have varieties, someone that like casino kind of gamblling may not like to participate in lottery kind of gambling and also a poker kind of gambling or soccer gambling, so it's a game of specialty and personal interest.

Yes, our interests matter, this is about choice and what we want that would please us. I would say that playing the national lottery is not a bad thing, there is no big deal in it too as the money to play it are so low, and who knows, you might be the lucky winner one day. And you know what that means, it means that you might change your status for life with just a risk of a little amount of money.

The National Lottery is undoubtedly an opportunity. If the luck is very good then it is possible to win many unfulfilled dreams of life can be fulled by winning this lottery. The price of this lottery is relatively low but the prize is quite large. Winning such a lottery is not very common. Moreover, due to lack of publicity, people do not know much about the results or winners of this lottery. Due to which people are losing interest in it day by day. An advantage in gambling is when you are betting you are either getting a return or losing it all. People prefer gambling more than national lottery because of getting its results immediately.

I never trust National Lotteries, rather i do not trust any sort of lotteries. Some times i think that lotteries are just a way to collect money from the innocent gamblers.
In every lottery, there is a small contribution which you have to make in order to qualify in the lottery. People easily participate in these lotteries as they have to spent little money but the reward is enormous. However, most lotteries are fake and we never know if they were fairly rewarded.

People's trust in lottery is very low while expectations are high. I have purchased such lotteries several times in my life where I won nothing. When i bought that lottery, assumed i would win but finally get nothing. I bought it because of a hidden interest in my mind. But now I haven't bought any kind of lottery for a long time now and i won't buy again in the future. I know that buying the lottery is a waste of money and time as well.

I want you to know that your points might be true, yet they are personal, which makes them sentimental to me. Lotteries have their set out conditions governing them, and they are meant for a person or certain people to win at the end of the lottery time. This varies, and emphatically almost everyone would not win. This is the mode of operation, it's only when the lottery company did not regularly declare a winner at all that we could say it's fake or call it names

Lotteries are being played with a few bucks and one could win a life-changing amount with it, which makes more people lose for a selected few to gain. I know a few of them that are very transparent in their operations, and I can never label them bad if I do not win. The best is for me to use my money for better things if it's not worth playing.

[Slow death]

speaking of lotteries, in my country there are many lotteries, there are so many that on every corner in the cities people are crowded to buy lottery tickets and something very strange is that I went to research the wage values of each worker who was on the streets sell the lottery tickets and I was shocked by the values, they receive very little that not even the minimum wage of my country that is in the law they do not receive, that is the company that organizes the lottery is breaking the laws, now going about the topic about lottery

I am of the opinion that the rich are those who have the greatest chance of winning the lottery, for this reason as I am poor I do not buy lottery tickets, I prefer only games that do not depend on luck that at least I can do an analysis of afterwards if I can do the analysis well, I can get it right, but if I don't do the analysis well, I can lose money, and that, but in the case of the lottery, the person buys a ticket and while others buy 1000 tickets, I honestly don't like the lottery

23 Lottery Winners Who Lost Millions

Most lottery dreams share a few common themes: yachts and lobster tails, big tips, fast cars, the fast life and a mansion for mom. In reality, instant entry to the nouveau riche class has a way of wrecking friendships, destroying marriages, ending in bankruptcy or worse.

https://www.gobankingrates.com/net-worth/bankruptcy/lottery-winners-who-lost-millions/

lottery winners always end up poor and disgraced unfortunately

[maydna]

But the reality is, such lotteries usually have way worse odds than any casinos or gambling sites. So, mathematically speaking, you're better off gambling your money there.

Thoughts?

It has millions of combinations for you to hit it and I think I might have chance to win at slot compare here. People just wanted instantaneous money without doing much effort that is why they are turning into lotteries thinking it was the easiest way to go, yeah it was easiest one if you're lucky but likely difficult and expensive if not.

It depend on the angle you may be looking at it from, to me there is not much difference between the two gambling and the lottery after all there both involve betting with your money, and is not as if lottery tickets cost that much some can just go a few bulks same with gambling such as football bets or playing slot in a machine.
The most important thing is that, once luck is on your side you can win at whatever game, gambling is gambling and there are no two ways about it.
If you want to avoid losing money then you should stay away from any form of gambling.

A lottery at a low price can indeed attract people to buy it and hope they will be the winner. And to realize what they want, they buy more lotteries and just wait for the results to come out. We might say that the lottery has a worse chance of losing money but the fact is, many people still have hope of winning big money. They know that the lottery really requires luck but that doesn't stop them from buying it anyway because they have seen that some people can be the winner. So for those people, the lottery is not a waste of time and money.

[rahmad2nd]

Topic and poll inspired by another thread - question:

Do you play national lottery games (Powerball, EuroMillions, Lotto etc)?

I once tried to gamble the lottery. yes, only 1-2 times to buy the raffle coupons. even then, just fad only. I don't want to judge or say that lottery gambling is a waste of time, maybe for those who like this lottery. Betting on lottery betting is a separate pleasure compared to other types of betting.

even in several places in my area there are some people who deliberately gather only to discuss the formula for this lottery gambling, and I can't stop thinking, that I believe there is no definite formula calculation or some sort of agorithm calculation to generate numbers in order to win  the lottery. a little funny indeed, but that's the fact that they really enjoy it.

Despite the negative things you've said in this thread, I totally agree. however, we don't have the right to judge or judge those who like this type of lottery gambling. if i had to choose i would rather play slot machines or dice as a fun pastime.

[goldkingcoiner]

Playing national lottery is the largest waste of time and worst waste of money that you can think of, even for the most risky of gamblers. If you look at the probabilities, its just not worth it. The probability of winning is so tiny, getting hit by lightning, twice, is more probable.

Some people just do not seem to be able to understand the math behind the probabilities, I think that's the root of the problem. The lottery just makes it seem like an achievable goal. But thats marketing.

The reward is so large but too many people are going for it. It is national, so the entire nation is well aware. And yet how often do we hear of big winners?

Suffice it to say again, but lotteries are not worth the money, time or effort.

If people would make out those calculations and find out the odds or chances then for sure they would really be losing that interest on betting on lotteries but once a person would be having in mind on getting rich once they do hit the jackpot then this is something that is really hard to be controlled or something that would really motivate you on making out bets even if its on daily basis.It all matters with your own mindset
and if emotion would also play out together with your mind then for sure you would be betting and wont minding on the time and money that would be spending out.So just let them be on what
are the things that they do because its their money to be used after all.

Well, yes. The problem is always the mindset. There are people with fixed mindsets who, even if you were to confront them with facts, physical and mathematical evidence, then there would still not be a doubt in my mind that such a person is going to spend money on a lottery ticket in hopes of changing his life, based on a miracle.

Lotteries depend on the desperation and hopes of people who believe in ridiculous things. But then again there are more than enough of such people (crystal gazers, astrologists, fortune tellers and so on).

Basically its impossible to convince those who do not wish to be convinced.

[Hamphser]

Well, yes. The problem is always the mindset. There are people with fixed mindsets who, even if you were to confront them with facts, physical and mathematical evidence, then there would still not be a doubt in my mind that such a person is going to spend money on a lottery ticket in hopes of changing his life, based on a miracle.

Lotteries depend on the desperation and hopes of people who believe in ridiculous things. But then again there are more than enough of such people (crystal gazers, astrologists, fortune tellers and so on).

Basically its impossible to convince those who do not wish to be convinced.

I agree on this one which there are lots of people whom i do know to have that kind of fixed mindsets which there's no way that you could influence them or do changed up their minds once they do target out on a
particular thing.I cant see myself to be that reliant and keeping on betting with national lotteries just because i do wish up for some miracle.It is really just enough that im really that aware on what are those odds
and chances on getting the jackpot and just been said by most people that odds or chance isnt really that something you could waste your time on going into those lottery booths and would make a bet.
Even if its cheap but overtime those amounts would be significant specially if you are already betting for years already and this is should how people do look into it.

[danadc]

I play only at freebitco.in's lottery, because the tickets come for free. Regards national lottery only my family and friends are adepts of that gambling modality. They say they have to try, especially the final draw of the year, which brings a more appetizing prize for the winner or winners. I tell them it's a waste of money, and that it gives nothing, but they keep trying for as long as I can remember.

Actually, national lottery is quite popular where I live. People make long rows in front of the lottery house to bet. And not surprisingly, it's a poor city where most people live with a minimum wage and heavily depend on third party welfare. That makes me feel they really have a wrong mindset for gambling and for finances in general and that the statement of OP is totally accurate: people see in the national lottery an opportunity to go from misery to richness overnight, doesn't matter how tiny the chances are.

I want to try more luck in freebitcoin, I forget a lot to buy lotteries here through the forum in the casinos, freebitcoin I know that they are quite famous with their lotteries, since they have been in operation they have not had them.

Other lotteries that I have seen and that I have not won is the one that they do through the google algorithm, and that is something that they have done but with things that are less prizes, or money prizes that are very little in quantity, but that They are significant when they do contests, and on twitch they are famous, now they use other things, other programs that are very different but do the same thing.

[serjent05]

Well, yes. The problem is always the mindset. There are people with fixed mindsets who, even if you were to confront them with facts, physical and mathematical evidence, then there would still not be a doubt in my mind that such a person is going to spend money on a lottery ticket in hopes of changing his life, based on a miracle.

Lotteries depend on the desperation and hopes of people who believe in ridiculous things. But then again there are more than enough of such people (crystal gazers, astrologists, fortune tellers and so on).

Basically its impossible to convince those who do not wish to be convinced.

I agree on this one which there are lots of people whom i do know to have that kind of fixed mindsets which there's no way that you could influence them or do changed up their minds once they do target out on a
particular thing.I cant see myself to be that reliant and keeping on betting with national lotteries just because i do wish up for some miracle.It is really just enough that im really that aware on what are those odds
and chances on getting the jackpot and just been said by most people that odds or chance isnt really that something you could waste your time on going into those lottery booths and would make a bet.
Even if its cheap but overtime those amounts would be significant specially if you are already betting for years already and this is should how people do look into it.

I don't bet on national lotteries or any kind of lottery because there is only a very slim chance of winning but I do understand why people keep on buying lottery tickets despite of the possibility of winning.  I think it is worth the try because if they win, it is life-changing.  I do not buy lottery tickets not because I am against it, I am not buying lottery tickets because  I do not have faith in my luck of winning the lottery.

[Fredomago]

Well, yes. The problem is always the mindset. There are people with fixed mindsets who, even if you were to confront them with facts, physical and mathematical evidence, then there would still not be a doubt in my mind that such a person is going to spend money on a lottery ticket in hopes of changing his life, based on a miracle.

Lotteries depend on the desperation and hopes of people who believe in ridiculous things. But then again there are more than enough of such people (crystal gazers, astrologists, fortune tellers and so on).

Basically its impossible to convince those who do not wish to be convinced.

I agree on this one which there are lots of people whom i do know to have that kind of fixed mindsets which there's no way that you could influence them or do changed up their minds once they do target out on a
particular thing.I cant see myself to be that reliant and keeping on betting with national lotteries just because i do wish up for some miracle.It is really just enough that im really that aware on what are those odds
and chances on getting the jackpot and just been said by most people that odds or chance isnt really that something you could waste your time on going into those lottery booths and would make a bet.
Even if its cheap but overtime those amounts would be significant specially if you are already betting for years already and this is should how people do look into it.

I don't bet on national lotteries or any kind of lottery because there is only a very slim chance of winning but I do understand why people keep on buying lottery tickets despite of the possibility of winning.  I think it is worth the try because if they win, it is life-changing.  I do not buy lottery tickets not because I am against it, I am not buying lottery tickets because  I do not have faith in my luck of winning the lottery.

Simple and precise, if you don't trust and inside your instinct you believe that you don't have that luck to win this kind of gambling, why bother to buy ticket, better to play or gamble with games that you think that you can end up with your favor, it will be a waste for you if you just buy and thinks that nothing will happen with your bet.

Though, just like what you said, there are people who engage in this kind of gambling as they are aiming to find that luck that will change their lives.

[Fatunad]

Well, yes. The problem is always the mindset. There are people with fixed mindsets who, even if you were to confront them with facts, physical and mathematical evidence, then there would still not be a doubt in my mind that such a person is going to spend money on a lottery ticket in hopes of changing his life, based on a miracle.

Lotteries depend on the desperation and hopes of people who believe in ridiculous things. But then again there are more than enough of such people (crystal gazers, astrologists, fortune tellers and so on).

Basically its impossible to convince those who do not wish to be convinced.

I agree on this one which there are lots of people whom i do know to have that kind of fixed mindsets which there's no way that you could influence them or do changed up their minds once they do target out on a
particular thing.I cant see myself to be that reliant and keeping on betting with national lotteries just because i do wish up for some miracle.It is really just enough that im really that aware on what are those odds
and chances on getting the jackpot and just been said by most people that odds or chance isnt really that something you could waste your time on going into those lottery booths and would make a bet.
Even if its cheap but overtime those amounts would be significant specially if you are already betting for years already and this is should how people do look into it.

I don't bet on national lotteries or any kind of lottery because there is only a very slim chance of winning but I do understand why people keep on buying lottery tickets despite of the possibility of winning.  I think it is worth the try because if they win, it is life-changing.  I do not buy lottery tickets not because I am against it, I am not buying lottery tickets because  I do not have faith in my luck of winning the lottery.

When you are just looking for the odds or chances on winning the lottery then you would definitely get discourage and this is indeed my main reason on why i dont also make out bets on national lotteries.
It might be interesting for other people but not for me.I agree that the one main driving factor on why people do keep on betting is that once they do hit up the jackpot then it would
really be a life changing one and this is what they do have in mind and this is the reason on why they do keep on betting despite of the odds or chances on winning up.

[uneng]

The chances are really bad. Just for curiosity I researched the probabilities and costs when playing at the national lottery. Check below:



Ticket's costs are already converted to dollar currency, for better comprehension of everyone here. You can play up to 15 numbers per ticket, what will increase its costs considerably, and also your winning chance!

Winnings happen if you match at least 4 numbers and there are 60 numbers available.

Total prize from the last draw was 56.074.766,35$. It means someone wagering 4.209,81$ in a ticket of 15 numbers had 0.00009997% chance winning the jackpot! 

And even in winning case, there is no assurance you will receive the entire prize, because there could be another winners.

Ah, and don't forget a big slice of the total prize goes back to the government through taxes!

[rodskee]

The chances are really bad. Just for curiosity I researched the probabilities and costs when playing at the national lottery. Check below:

That is frustrating if you look at because that surely a no possible chances to win , but I believe that betting in Lottery is like a fun and challenging part as those risk taker love it when they have this .
sometimes it is not bad to bet for Lottery but if you will use this to look for fortune and future? then this is stupidity for me.

[Reatim]

Ah, and don't forget a big slice of the total prize goes back to the government through taxes!

I don't think this will ever an issue if you happen to win jackpot ? because this will be a peanut compering to what we can get but the problem is if how many winners in that said jackpot or how many of them will need to divide.
 
and also If I were to decide lottery or other form ? i will choose sports betting or at least Black Jack so the chances of winning is bigger though the wins is small.

[Queentoshi]

Thoughts?

I know someone who won a National Lottery and had to quit his job and relocate for safety reasons, of course you know it changed his life for him for him to consider safety. I know it is a very slim chance to win and be the lucky person out of the mass of persons that apply for it, but who knows if that is where your luck will be. If playing the lottery will not affect you, you can just try your luck with it, and give it a shot. Playing the lottery may not be smart, but it is not a waste of time.

[traderethereum]

The chances are really bad. Just for curiosity I researched the probabilities and costs when playing at the national lottery. Check below:



Ticket's costs are already converted to dollar currency, for better comprehension of everyone here. You can play up to 15 numbers per ticket, what will increase its costs considerably, and also your winning chance!

Winnings happen if you match at least 4 numbers and there are 60 numbers available.

Total prize from the last draw was 56.074.766,35$. It means someone wagering 4.209,81$ in a ticket of 15 numbers had 0.00009997% chance winning the jackpot! 

And even in winning case, there is no assurance you will receive the entire prize, because there could be another winners.

Ah, and don't forget a big slice of the total prize goes back to the government through taxes!

Even if the odds are terrible because they don't have a big chance of winning, that won't stop them from buying lottery tickets.
The prize they will get can give temptation to those who will still buy that lottery ticket and hope that they will one day be the winner.
And there may even be some people who bought lottery tickets years ago and won only a few years later.
This proves that the lottery game can really tempt them to buy it even though the total prize will return to the government through taxes because the amount of money they will receive is still very large.

[ultrloa]

Thoughts?

I know someone who won a National Lottery and had to quit his job and relocate for safety reasons, of course you know it changed his life for him for him to consider safety. I know it is a very slim chance to win and be the lucky person out of the mass of persons that apply for it, but who knows if that is where your luck will be. If playing the lottery will not affect you, you can just try your luck with it, and give it a shot. Playing the lottery may not be smart, but it is not a waste of time.

You only need small amount of money to try your luck on lottery so if you feel to bet and nothing harm will happen to you then why not? Its really good to try since you will not get a chance if you not try right? But I cannot call it a waste of time since even if there's no much activities but still the excitement are still there waiting for the result to come at the end of the day.

[coolcoinz]

It's funny how players ignore the odds and think their chance of winning is much higher than it really is... until they see the numbers right in front of them. I'm a skeptic and I don't play the lottery but if you would've asked me what my chance of winning the grand prize is I'd say 1 in a million when in reality it's more like 1 in 10 million. Once you're really faced with the numbers and realize you often lose in dice when you have 49%, you start realizing that you'll never get anything out of this, that it's a waste of time and money.

[Dunamisx]

We can not conclude or take decision to some people the way I'm seeing it, so i believe that gamblling is a game of choice and interest, some people doesn't like playing lottery kind of game the way I'm seeing it, and another thing is that gamblling have varieties, someone that like casino kind of gamblling may not like to participate in lottery kind of gambling and also a poker kind of gambling or soccer gambling, so it's a game of specialty and personal interest.

Yes, our interests matter, this is about choice and what we want that would please us. I would say that playing the national lottery is not a bad thing, there is no big deal in it too as the money to play it are so low, and who knows, you might be the lucky winner one day. And you know what that means, it means that you might change your status for life with just a risk of a little amount of money.

The National Lottery is undoubtedly an opportunity. If the luck is very good then it is possible to win many unfulfilled dreams of life can be fulled by winning this lottery. The price of this lottery is relatively low but the prize is quite large. Winning such a lottery is not very common. Moreover, due to lack of publicity, people do not know much about the results or winners of this lottery. Due to which people are losing interest in it day by day. An advantage in gambling is when you are betting you are either getting a return or losing it all. People prefer gambling more than national lottery because of getting its results immediately.

I never trust National Lotteries, rather i do not trust any sort of lotteries. Some times i think that lotteries are just a way to collect money from the innocent gamblers.
In every lottery, there is a small contribution which you have to make in order to qualify in the lottery. People easily participate in these lotteries as they have to spent little money but the reward is enormous. However, most lotteries are fake and we never know if they were fairly rewarded.

People's trust in lottery is very low while expectations are high. I have purchased such lotteries several times in my life where I won nothing. When i bought that lottery, assumed i would win but finally get nothing. I bought it because of a hidden interest in my mind. But now I haven't bought any kind of lottery for a long time now and i won't buy again in the future. I know that buying the lottery is a waste of money and time as well.

I want you to know that your points might be true, yet they are personal, which makes them sentimental to me. Lotteries have their set out conditions governing them, and they are meant for a person or certain people to win at the end of the lottery time. This varies, and emphatically almost everyone would not win. This is the mode of operation, it's only when the lottery company did not regularly declare a winner at all that we could say it's fake or call it names

Lotteries are being played with a few bucks and one could win a life-changing amount with it, which makes more people lose for a selected few to gain. I know a few of them that are very transparent in their operations, and I can never label them bad if I do not win. The best is for me to use my money for better things if it's not worth playing.

You're right mate, there are certain requirements that must be fulfilled in other to apply for lottery and have a place to to stand a chance on winning it, i see this a somewhat challenging enough for some gamblers not to have that kind of time to give in fulfilling it's terms when they can easily use their own money to gamble and avoid waste of time just as we all know that lottery take a little while before you can get the outcome of the results while gambling can be instant, but for the fact that it is competitive with slight chance makes it more difficult for many gamblers from participating.

[Shamm]

We can not conclude or take decision to some people the way I'm seeing it, so i believe that gamblling is a game of choice and interest, some people doesn't like playing lottery kind of game the way I'm seeing it, and another thing is that gamblling have varieties, someone that like casino kind of gamblling may not like to participate in lottery kind of gambling and also a poker kind of gambling or soccer gambling, so it's a game of specialty and personal interest.

Yes, our interests matter, this is about choice and what we want that would please us. I would say that playing the national lottery is not a bad thing, there is no big deal in it too as the money to play it are so low, and who knows, you might be the lucky winner one day. And you know what that means, it means that you might change your status for life with just a risk of a little amount of money.

The National Lottery is undoubtedly an opportunity. If the luck is very good then it is possible to win many unfulfilled dreams of life can be fulled by winning this lottery. The price of this lottery is relatively low but the prize is quite large. Winning such a lottery is not very common. Moreover, due to lack of publicity, people do not know much about the results or winners of this lottery. Due to which people are losing interest in it day by day. An advantage in gambling is when you are betting you are either getting a return or losing it all. People prefer gambling more than national lottery because of getting its results immediately.

I never trust National Lotteries, rather i do not trust any sort of lotteries. Some times i think that lotteries are just a way to collect money from the innocent gamblers.
In every lottery, there is a small contribution which you have to make in order to qualify in the lottery. People easily participate in these lotteries as they have to spent little money but the reward is enormous. However, most lotteries are fake and we never know if they were fairly rewarded.

People's trust in lottery is very low while expectations are high. I have purchased such lotteries several times in my life where I won nothing. When i bought that lottery, assumed i would win but finally get nothing. I bought it because of a hidden interest in my mind. But now I haven't bought any kind of lottery for a long time now and i won't buy again in the future. I know that buying the lottery is a waste of money and time as well.

I want you to know that your points might be true, yet they are personal, which makes them sentimental to me. Lotteries have their set out conditions governing them, and they are meant for a person or certain people to win at the end of the lottery time. This varies, and emphatically almost everyone would not win. This is the mode of operation, it's only when the lottery company did not regularly declare a winner at all that we could say it's fake or call it names

Lotteries are being played with a few bucks and one could win a life-changing amount with it, which makes more people lose for a selected few to gain. I know a few of them that are very transparent in their operations, and I can never label them bad if I do not win. The best is for me to use my money for better things if it's not worth playing.

You're right mate, there are certain requirements that must be fulfilled in other to apply for lottery and have a place to to stand a chance on winning it, i see this a somewhat challenging enough for some gamblers not to have that kind of time to give in fulfilling it's terms when they can easily use their own money to gamble and avoid waste of time just as we all know that lottery take a little while before you can get the outcome of the results while gambling can be instant, but for the fact that it is competitive with slight chance makes it more difficult for many gamblers from participating.

Once a gamble bring his luck and then lottery ga will change his/her life cause we all know how much the jackpot prize is. Imagine if you are the one who hit the jackpot then Once in a while you will be a millionaire or even a billionaire depends on the country where you bet in. But most that is has a million price which is quite big enough. But the jackpot of the lottery is very hard to hit cause there are many combinations .

[dimonstration]

Once a gamble bring his luck and then lottery ga will change his/her life cause we all know how much the jackpot prize is. Imagine if you are the one who hit the jackpot then Once in a while you will be a millionaire or even a billionaire depends on the country where you bet in. But most that is has a million price which is quite big enough. But the jackpot of the lottery is very hard to hit cause there are many combinations .

I know that imagining how much money you can possibly win on lottery is really encouraging to do a random bets for fun but bear in mind that only few people win the  jackpot prize in the lottery compared to the amount of bets made on it. It’s not bad on dreaming to win one day but I personally disregarded the chance of winning on lottery and just focus on my job to get money slowly after realizing that winning a lottery is almost zero chance.

Those people that regularly placing bets will already save too much money if they just save instead of betting it.

[Unsoldier]

I agree with the OP. Playing the national lottery it makes no sense. I participated in two such lotteries and won nothing. I have a few acquaintances who buy lottery tickets once a month and have failed to win the jackpot. Although my acquaintances have managed to recoup their lottery ticket winnings several times. That's all they were able to earn.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

I agree with the OP. Playing the national lottery is pointless. I have participated in two such lotteries and won nothing. I have acquaintances who buy lottery tickets once a month and have failed to win the jackpot. Although my acquaintances have managed to recoup their lottery ticket winnings several times. That's all they were able to earn.

Winning something at all is still something mate, your friend(so to say) should be happy, and you should be happy too, winning a jackpot in a national lottery is an almost impossible mission, this is because the national lottery is a game played by millions of people all over the country, from my perspective or should I say observations, the higher the number of players , so does the chances of each player winning the jackpot greatly reduce.

I've come across people that played national lottery for years and never won anything, this is why prefer doing what ever kind of gamble I wanna do, in a private casino(online or offline), not one owned by the government.

[mak013]

In my country in such lotteries there are more than million of lottery tickets and there are about 50 winners, that win much more than ticket costs. So everybody can count his chances himself.
But the same time it is a nice way to make cheap presents for colleagues for example. It costs $1-3 and you don`t need to think what to buy. So, i`m playing sometimes such lotteries but never i buy these tickets for me.

[pawel7777]

...Although my acquaintances have managed to recoup their lottery ticket winnings several times. That's all they were able to earn.

Are you sure about that? People, in general, like to brag and exaggerate and say things that put them in a good light. On top of that, they're we're not very good about keeping the track of our income and expenses.

It's very easy to get deluded about your actual gambling performance when you don't keep (or have access to) actual win/lost records. Small losses often don't even get registered in long-term memory, whereas wins would cause a dopamine release and are likely to get engraved in memory. As a result - we may genuinely think that we're in profit when it's simply not true.