National lotteries - Another tax on the poor.

[mizo]

Does anyone on here play their national state lottery?

Here in the UK we have the main bi- weekly national lottery and the bigger Euro-millions draw that's also drawn twice a week. There's also daily draws and scratch cards to entice people to part with their hard earned cash.

The prize money can roll over to enormous amounts the last recent big- win. the amount was a huge €220,000,000, a obscene amount of money to the Average Joe.

A few years ago I'd regularly gambled on the lottery -the most I ever won was £160, with predicting 4 numbers out of the six winning numbers... I realized then the futility of the 'pipe dream' and I haven't participated in the lottery since.

I thought at that time about about George Orwell - who wrote:

Lottery, which was managed by the Ministry of Plenty, but he was aware (indeed everyone in the party was aware) that the prizes were largely imaginary. Only small sums were actually paid out, the winners of the big prizes being nonexistent persons.

That quote seems more relevant know given all the lies and deception that's happening worldwide.

I'm interested to know if anyone on here know or met a 'major' lottery winner - or even played and won a life changing amount of money?

[Brigantia]

I knew the mother of one of the early National Lottery jackpot winners, she was a cleaner in the office where I worked. He was quite a high profile figure at the time as his life history got into the tabloids and he was 'a bit of a lad', as we say.

So yes, I know that at least one was genuine. Mind you, he blew it all on high living and ended up penniless. Be careful what you wish for...

Edit as I forgot to answer your first question - I used to play one line every Saturday years ago and the most I ever won was £80. The odds of winning the jackpot are enormous, it's a mug's game and I'd rather save £2 a week and have £104 at the end of the year.

I also think it's a tax on the poor as I see people at the lottery counter who look as if they don't have two pennies to rub together, and they buy a handful of lottery tickets and scratch cards.