In Canada, the lotteries pay out about 40% of their revenue in prizes (with no taxes on winnings). Those are the only odds that matter. Those aren’t good odds. (OTOH, a lottery ticket is a pretty cheap way to purchase a fantasy to entertain yourself for a while.)
That money is rolled over into the next draw when no one wins the jackpot. The odds can turn in the customer’s favour when enough accumulates for an enormous jackpot. When the pot builds up to equal more than the amount new ticket sales bring in, buying a ticket makes sense. Even if, for example, you only have a one-in-a-million chance of winning, if the prize is more than a million times the cost of a ticket, then the odds are in your favour.
In Canada, the lotteries pay out about 40% of their revenue in prizes (with no taxes on winnings). Those are the only odds that matter. Those aren’t good odds. (OTOH, a lottery ticket is a pretty cheap way to purchase a fantasy to entertain yourself for a while.)
That money is rolled over into the next draw when no one wins the jackpot. The odds can turn in the customer’s favour when enough accumulates for an enormous jackpot. When the pot builds up to equal more than the amount new ticket sales bring in, buying a ticket makes sense. Even if, for example, you only have a one-in-a-million chance of winning, if the prize is more than a million times the cost of a ticket, then the odds are in your favour.