Almost anyone in the United States can play the lottery and lottery games come i

Question

Almost anyone in the United States can play the lottery and lottery games come in many kinds. You might be surprised at how many people dedicate $50 (or more) a week to playing lotto games. But can the game you choose significantly affect your chances of winning? For the next two exercises you will need to use the internet to find information. Choose a state which runs lotteries. Calculate your odds of winning if you spend $1 on an entry. Calculate your odds of winning if you spend $50 on an entry. Compare these odds to the odds of being in a car accident, plane crash, struck by lightning, or hit by a meteorite. (these numbers are out there so search for them!) While many states run lotteries, most prohibit individuals and businesses from doing so. Is that ethical? Court cases have held bartenders liable for serving alcohol to someone who is already drunk. Gambling is an addiction like alcohol. Should a state be liable for selling lotto tickets to a gambling addict? What view might people have of the Lottery if they combine an understanding of Statistics and Respect?

Explanation / Answer

44 states in the US run lotteries. To state a few Ohio, Arizona, Indiana etc.

Let us consider the game Mega Millions. For example, the Mega Million costs $1 with an additional $1 for the Megaplier option.

(a) The odds of winning or sharing a Mega Millions jackpot (2013-2017 version): 1 in about 258.9 million.So, the odds of winning with a $1 bet is almost nil.

(b) The odds will still remain the same if a person puts a $50 dollar bet, that is, the person is buying more than one lottery tickets to increase his chance of winning. Thus, the odds of winning is still negligible.

(c) About 1 in 645 people are in a car accident and your chances of dying in a car or traffic accident are one in 5,000.and the chances are 1 in 161,856 for fatal injuries caused by lightning. These probabilities are still higher than the probability of winning a lottery game.

Gambling establishments exploit known human weaknesses in probabilistic reasoning and their attitudes of taking chances in hopes of getting rich. It is argued that State lotteries are often justified on the grounds that they raise money for social programs, especially those that target the neediest members of society. However, the poorest members of society tend to spend (and, by design lose) the most of what he spends on lottery tickets. It is said that some state lottery proceeds fund public programs that benefit everyone, not just the poor. Often state lottery money is being systematically redistributed upwards--from lotto players to suburban schools. But in an alternative way of looking at things more good might be achieved by having these poor lottery players instead spend their gambling money on supporting their own families. Maybe the fun of playing the lottery combined with the revenue for social programs justifies their existence on the whole.

Gambling addiction can occur two any person and at all ages and happens when a person feels that they are in financial ruin and can only solve their finnancial problems by gambling what little they have in an attempt to get a large sum of money in return. Unfortunately, this almost always leads to a continuous cycle in which the gambler feels they must win back their losses he made, and the cycle goes on until the person is forced to seek rehabilitation to break their habit. Another type of gambling addiction results when a gambler plays the games and makes risky bets to experience the emotional high associated with taking huge risks that occasionally pay off. In both cases, the person affected by this addiction must have the desire to stop the behavior, not just to please family and friends. Excessive gambling often causes a multitude of emotional symptoms, including anxiety, depression, and even suicidal thoughts and tendencies. In extreme situations, these thoughts may lead a gambler to actually making an attempt to end their life. Losing everything to gambling is devastating and leaves many people feeling completely hopeless. Since the concerns are serious the state should pay attention to the people who actually buy lotter tickets so that they can identify the gambling addicts and prohibit such people from buying the lottery tickets.

The game of lottery should be played with respect for the rules of probability and responsiveness towards the personal economic condition. The player should have a clear understanding of the game and the chances that he has of winning a lottery. Unprecedented betting and losing all personal resources for gambling is not a desired outcome of the gambling process.

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