[euroderf]

> > funnily enough the time when the chance of winning is actually lowest

> Not really?

A big jackpot draws more players, and that reduces the payouts at the intermediate levels.

[krisoft]

> that reduces the payouts at the intermediate levels

Which has nothing to do with your chance of winning.

[euroderf]

But has something to do with the expected winning making it worth the investment.

[gosub100]

What do you mean by intermediate levels? In the 2 main US lotteries the only award that gets split is the single jackpot. Even the 2nd place award is $1 million and is not divided among multiple winners.