So while the purchase of the ticket itself is voluntary , the portion of that ticket sale that goes to state revenues is not , much in the same way that a sales tax paid on a book is not voluntarily paid . The Mega 176 million lottery jackpot is at 370 . Drenkard : People are lining up to pay what is , in effect , a tax . Lotteries take a disproportionate share of income from the poorest Americans , he says . Scott Drenkard says lotteries pay out a lower share of revenues than other forms of gambling .
The Mega 176 million lottery jackpot is at 370 . Drenkard : People are lining up to pay what is , in effect , a tax . Lotteries take a disproportionate share of income from the poorest Americans , he says . Scott Drenkard says lotteries pay out a lower share of revenues than other forms of gambling .