This main points of this article can be explained by game theory. In this article, using empircal evidence, CNN shows that gambling on the lotto is not a very good bet. It is unlikely on average that one will get as much out as they invest, and they get less than they would by other forms of gambling. Why then do people play the lotto?
According to game theory, it would be inadvisable to play the lotto. The chances of losing are very high, and one has a better strategy which is not to buy lottery tickets. However people do; why is that? I think that there are a few explanations, the first of which is that people don't think about the game correctly. They overestimate their chances, and this causes them to play a poor strategy. Another explanation, is that the opportunity cost for them to buy a ticket is low, so they do. This seems unlikely, as the article reports that many of the people who buy lottery tickets have a low income. I think that this article shows, that knowing the results or possible outcomes of the game can help one to pick the best strategy for the game.
Source: http://money.cnn.com/2012/03/30/news/economy/lottery-bad-bet/index.htm?iid=Lead
Those are a couple good points that do show that's it's not a good idea to buy lotto tickets. Although, in my mind when I buy lotto tickets it's only a couple bucks and the idea that there's a possibly I could end up winning a lot of money makes up for the loss I'm incurring from the unfair gamble. I may just be buying into their marketing strategy though haha
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