Do you buy lottery ticket?

Walk or drive past any of those 4D-Magnum and Sport Toto outlets in the evenings and you will find it full of hopefuls, people who hope to strike the big one. And there are others like Da Ma Cai and Big Sweep, not forgetting the countless illlegal ones operating from every imaginable nook and corner in the country. All of them offer the same thing...the hope of striking it big.

In the evenings, you often see people waving pieces of paper by the roadside. When I was younger I often wondered why people would stop and buy a piece of seemingly worthless paper. It was only much later that I learned they contain the results of the day's draw. That's how pervasive lottery is. But I think with mobile services, this may be a thing of the past soon. Cos even the aunty and uncle can now ask their children to check the results via the mobile.

How much does one spend then on such hopes? Well, this is from a friend about a small-scale lottery hopeful. She makes a purchase of RM5 per ticket from 3 different lottery outlets thrice a week. So that brings the amount to RM45 per week. In a month, with special draws that would come up to RM200 or more. Add that up to a year and it will come to around RM2400. And on top of that some more there is this ever so often good feeling, dreams that people like this are prone to..... car get banged, buy number, some toddler mutter some number, buy also...so all in all it easily reaches 3K a year. Does she win that much back? You know the answer! Budget gets busted more often than never. That is why, gamblers often live a life of debts.

So how good are your chances of striking it big? If you think the odds are okay...then you are dead wrong! It's a loser's game. If you look at the people who buy lottery tickets, you'll find that majority of those people who buy the tickets are from the lower income groups. There was a study conducted in the States which found that poverty is a central reason as to why people buy lotteries.

Lotteries actually set off a vicious cycle that not only exploits low-income group's desires to escape poverty but also directly prevents them from improving their financial situations. I mean, how do you improve your financial situation if whatever extra cash that you may have goes towards the lottery tickets. Most people don't actually keep a tab on how much they spend on their lottery tickets purchase. But I am sure if they sit down and do, they'd be surprised how much goes to it. It's just like the ciggy! You burn without realizing how much you are burning...or the mobile...you keep reloading ...... but then again, probably they are just being the proverbial ostrich with its head in the sand.

At the end of the day, it's still the rich exploiting the poor. Mathematically speaking, you can't win this game. But hope keeps them going. Truly a vicious cycle at work here!