In general, I must say that the lottery is very different from other gambling games. It differs primarily in low chances of winning.
But of course, it's still gambling. Anything done where money is staked or spent and then its result is left to luck and chance is gambling in my books.
There are lotteries where you can win many small prizes, and there are those where the main emphasis is on the jackpot.
Why should anyone waste their time and money if they're going to aim for the "many small prizes" instead of the jackpot. Whatever risk we take should be with the aim of maxing out on profit. No half measures. According to a local parlance, he who must eat frogs should eat the big rotund ones so that when they're called frog eaters they should be proud to respond to such an appellation. That ought to be the case here with aiming for lotteries where one can hit a jackpot.