The lottery was invented for people who didn’t show up when the brains were passed out.
If the average payoff is greater than the cost, it’s investment.
If the average payoff is less than the cost, it’s gambling.
Typical lotto players spend $100-500/year on tickets (inversely proportional to income). Average payoff is no better than fifty cents on the dollar.
Buying lotto tickets at $100/yr over 10 years gets you $500 total (probably much less, because you probably won’t hit a “big one”).
Doing absolutely nothing with the cash gets you $1000.
Just dropping & leaving $100/yr in a 2% interest bank account for 10 years gets you >$1200. Much better returns are easy to come by.
Lottos are a tax on innumeracy.
The _only_ redeeming fact: if you don’t buy a ticket, you can’t win. Thing is, if you do, in all likelihood you won’t. Go buy a cheap book or rent a movie - you’ll get a lot more out of it.
I’ve paid a lot more than $2 for entertainment. Putting real amounts of money into a lottery, or any gambling for that matter, is foolish but when jackpots get this big you will see doctors, lawyers, and other professionals chip in just for the fun of it.