[wackro]

>a tax on people who can't do math.

The national lottery in the UK sends about 25% of the money to charities, so for some it's a form of charitable giving. Also what the other commenter said about dreaming.

[nybble41]

> for some it's a form of charitable giving

It would be four times as effective to just donate all of the lottery entry money directly to charity—and it wouldn't even measurably affect your chances of winning.

[sidewndr46]

Also for me, the charitable giving could be a tax deduction.

I can deduct gambling losses only if I had gambling winnings, which as I pointed out earlier is not going to happen.