Lottery!

You now have one dollar in your pocket. You own nothing else, just one dollar. You are jobless, and no one is willing to help you. The only thing that you can depend on is the one dollar in your pocket. A plate of food costs at least two dollars. At that moment, you notice a lottery booth next to you. The owner eggs you, "Come on, young lad. Don't you have one dollar to spare? That one dollar will turn you rich-instantly." What will you do?

The one dollar is practically useless. Even if you manage to buy some food, you will go hungry again, in just a day or two. However, if I buy the lottery ticket, I can become rich! Thousands and thousands of dollars will be mine!

Lottery-the tax on the poor, functions on this mentality. The people that buy lottery are the people who entertain the thought of being rich overnight. The lottery ticket is also so 'conveniently' priced at a dollar. For these reasons, lottery is so addictive, and luring. In this post, I will tell you why I condemn lotteries.

Lottery is addictive. No one can dispute this fact. The people who buy lottery often find it hard to kick the habit. It is so luring, and the people keep on thinking, "This will the lucky ticket. If I don't buy it, I will waste the chance." Gamblers keep on thinking that they will be lucky the next time. For this reason, they keep on gambling, in hope that they will win. What makes it even more addictive is the little prizes that they win. Think about it in this way. You are playing a very fun game. However, the game is very hard, and you keep on losing. You will most likely give up, as it will get boring, and there is no sense of achievement. You then switch to another game. This game is also fun, and is also easier. You keep on progressing, keep on reaching achievements. You will be more likely to keep on playing. It is the same with lottery. For about every 100 or so tickets they buy, they will win one or two consolation prizes. This makes lottery more interesting, and addictive. As lottery is so addictive, its effects are severe. Even though each ticket costs only one or two dollars, the gamblers will spend most of his money on the tickets. After a year, the amount of money wasted will be relatively high. Think about it-the people who created lottery want to make money, so they will purposely set the rules in such a way that the average person will spend more than he wins. Statistics prove this. Online gambling alone takes in 10 billion dollars a year, as reported by a NRP report. As someone said, "The lottery is a tax on people who flunked math"

Lottery does not only affect the gambler, the gambler's family will also be affected. As the gambler swindles away all the money, the family members will have less money to spend on other more important everyday needs. In addition to that, the gambler will influence, or even introduce his sons to lottery, thus 'breeding' a line of gamblers. They will then spend even more, leaving their other innocent family members less money to spend. Sooner or later, their family will not even have enough money to spend on everyday needs.

However, let's see this issue from the gambler's point of view. The gambler might argue that gambling is a form of entertainment. It provides them some excitement in their otherwise mundane lives. It is just a form of entertainment, nothing more. And the good thing is, they can even make money in the process? Isn't this the best form of entertainment? Other gamblers also argue that lottery will make them rich. They will dig out all their achievements, and show how much they made. They will tell you examples of many gamblers who made tens, of thousands of dollars from lottery.

True, gambling is a form of entertainment, and provides with them excitement. I agree with this point. However, what I disagree with is that gambling is a just a form of entertainment. Whether they like it or not, gambling is an addiction, as serious as internet addiction, and gaming addiction. They claim that they can kick the habit anytime, but this is not true. As to all the achievements that they show, I will question them, what happened to all the achievements that they won? Did they keep it, and spend it one something meaningful? Or did they spend it on lottery? Most likely, they will spend it back on lottery. By doing this, they are giving back their prize money! And as to all the people who won tens, of thousands of dollars, let us look at the big picture. How many people's lives were destroyed by lottery? Compare this number to the number of people who won lots of money. When we do this, we will realise that it is just not worth it.

As the proverb goes, "The best throw of the dice is to throw it away". Man has realised the affects of gambling way long ago. For the people who are addicted to lottery, now is the time to stop. Forget the lottery. Bet on yourself instead.