[Sciolist]

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If they were good at math, they probably wouldn't play the lottery in the first place.

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I don't like this assumption. I play the lottery (on rollovers) even though it has poor EV. If I win, £10m is a lot of money. If I lose, £5 is an irrelevant amount of money. The utility of winning is high whilst the cost is essentially zero, so why not enter? It also ensures some money goes to charity and that you get to harbour the fantasy of winning.

I do like the idea that the odds of you winning the lottery are essentially the same whether you enter it or not though.