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Is playing the lottery really worth it?

I have been playing the lottery twice a week since I was 16. I am now 20. That's 4 years.. 208 weeks.. £832 I have spent on the lottery so far and I have NEVER won anything?! :/ Is it worth continuing as you never know? Or is it a waste of money? Do you play the lottery and have you ever won anything over £1000?

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Reply 1
No.
Reply 2
The lottery is designed to create a large, predictable profit for the sponsor. Where do you think this is coming from?
"The lottery is just a tax on stupid people".
Original post by Camilli
The lottery is designed to create a large, predictable profit for the sponsor. Where do you think this is coming from?


Good point, the amount they award out is a fraction of the revenue they bring in from everyone buying tickets but technically everyone who plays has the same chance of winning per ticket and there is always a winner in the end so I do have a chance of winning despite it being slim its equal to everyone else
Aren't the chances of winning not around 14 million to 1?
Original post by tearteto
"The lottery is just a tax on stupid people".


Unless you win:P
Original post by The_Mighty_Bush
Aren't the chances of winning not around 14 million to 1?


Yep, Do you not think a very big syndicate is a way forward? there is just under 14 million possible combinations, if e.g £100m euromillions that's £86m profit?
Nope. Don't see the point in wasting money on something you're highly unlikely to ever win.
For the few very lucky people, yes. The return is huge. For the vast majority, no.
Original post by harry218
Good point, the amount they award out is a fraction of the revenue they bring in from everyone buying tickets but technically everyone who plays has the same chance of winning per ticket and there is always a winner in the end so I do have a chance of winning despite it being slim its equal to everyone else
So you have what amounts to a 1-in-100 chance of winning $30 with a $1 ticket. Keep doing that and see how smart you feel.
Reply 11
Original post by harry218
Yep, Do you not think a very big syndicate is a way forward? there is just under 14 million possible combinations, if e.g £100m euromillions that's £86m profit?


Euromillions costs £2. So lets say you manage to get together 280,000 people to put in £100 each. Then you get a return of £100 million/280,000 = £357 each... invest £1000 each and you get £3570 winnings etc. I guess if you had plenty of people who wanted to spend a lot you'd be OK. Or if you kept playing it over and over again in this way. But the chances that you'll be able to get that number investing enough every week would be very low!

xxx
I've used to buy a ticket like once a month back at home and have won several times but never tried here in the UK. I wouldn't go mad on lottery because there's a very slim chance I'll ever win but just for excitement, I should maybe try one ticket a week or so :h:
Original post by kpwxx
Euromillions costs £2. So lets say you manage to get together 280,000 people to put in £100 each. Then you get a return of £100 million/280,000 = £357 each... invest £1000 each and you get £3570 winnings etc. I guess if you had plenty of people who wanted to spend a lot you'd be OK. Or if you kept playing it over and over again in this way. But the chances that you'll be able to get that number investing enough every week would be very low!


xxx


Hey thanks for working all this out :smile: so 280 people to invest £100k in will then get £357k, I'd say it's a pretty hefty return for something almost certain providing you have put in all the combinations and that no one else has won it as well:tongue: but yeah hard part would be finding a group that big to do it willing to put in 100k each.. But then again if you had 100k lying around you wouldn't need to win the lottery xD
Original post by ForgetMe
I've used to buy a ticket like once a month back at home and have won several times but never tried here in the UK. I wouldn't go mad on lottery because there's a very slim chance I'll ever win but just for excitement, I should maybe try one ticket a week or so :h:


Oh okay cool:smile: have you had any big wins? Yeah I would say the excitement of watching it is pretty fun, Following a sad mood after xD I think I'll play for another year until I'm 21 and then probably give up then as I would have spent about £1000 on it !!
Original post by kpwxx
Euromillions costs £2. So lets say you manage to get together 280,000 people to put in £100 each. Then you get a return of £100 million/280,000 = £357 each... invest £1000 each and you get £3570 winnings etc. I guess if you had plenty of people who wanted to spend a lot you'd be OK. Or if you kept playing it over and over again in this way. But the chances that you'll be able to get that number investing enough every week would be very low!

xxx

A few things-- most lotteries start with lower prizes. They may roll some of the un-won tickets into the next week, which can create a larger pot, but it isn't the norm that expected prizes are larger than the ticket cost. This week, the expected jackpot is 10mm pounds and the odds of winning are 1 in 116,531,800. That's less than a 10% payout on the average ticket this week. http://www.euro-millions.com/prizes

Also, a quoted prize value can be quite deceptive. In most lotteries, a hundred million in fact is more likely to be 5 million a year for 20 years, so right there that knocks half the value off. (I don't know what EuroMillions does-- it's not at all clear from the website.)

Then you have to pay income taxes on the winnings, which can take another third to half off. So in the example you make that's after-tax present value of something like 35mm pounds depending on tax rates. And that's if there's no other winner to take half of THAT away. Not to mention the administrative costs of rounding up 280,000 people and not screwing up any of the tickets.
(edited 9 years ago)
If you only have £1 and it's between choosing to eat or play the lottery, I'd choose food. If you don't mind losing £1 a week, and you can afford necessities, then gamble away. :smile:
According to math, no. it's not worth it. But if you believe in Karma, it depends on your actions. And if you believe in black magic, your psychic power strong enough, do you think?
Original post by harry218
Unless you win:P


If you win, you're still stupid - you're just really lucky, too.
Reply 19
As with any form of gambling, the odds are not in your favour. However if you have some money to spare then I don't see any harm in playing it but don't go into it just to make a profit. I've only won £10 once, haven't bought a ticket in about three years... lost too much money gambling :tongue:

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