I think playing the lottery increases the chances of being financially illiterate because the people who play are probably not educated enough to know the downsides. If you think from the person's point of view, there is not much profit in gambling. Karan Here the major awards are very rare and only a few achieve these major awards. However, there are no limits on gambling participation or earnings, no time constraints and virtually no effort required. That is one can earn a lot of money without following any strict rules just by testing luck. But in a competitive market there may be games with a more competitive edge but most lotteries are legal monopolies.