Posted by Nick Stone (218.13.254.203) on November 25, 2002 at 00:38:38:

In Reply to: Re: When is a lotto purchase gambling? posted by PatK on November 22, 2002 at 20:08:32:

Does buying a lottery ticket constitute gambling?

The question is really quite simple and to answer it one must focus on the motivation for buying a ticket.

1.) If one wishes to profit from buying the ticket in the hope of winning a prize, unless one is 100% certain of winning, then buying a ticket must be considered a gamble.

2.) If someone claims that the main motivation for buying a ticket is to help charities (part of the ticket proceeds going to various charities, at least they do in the UK), then they are, in my humble opinion, cretinous. They may as well give the entire dollar or pound to the International Fund, Huququllah, or another worthy charity, like one working on a cure for breast cancer.

3.) If they are not buying the ticket for either of the above grounds, possibly for fun (one of the Princes in England recently won the football pools, claiming they played for fun), then they are also, in my humble opinion, cretinous. This also would come under the heading of gambling.

Therefore, buying a lottery ticket, must, in most cases, be considered gambling. Either that or cretinous behaviour, given the miniscule chances of actually winning.

Best regards,

Nick

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