"Lotteries and casinos are basically legitimised scams that prey on people who don't understand probability."
People who don't understand probability or maths will run into problems with many such things, but that doesn't describe every participant in such activities.
It is not just the participants they affect though. Lotteries inflate the ego of those that assume a linear utility value of money, and casinos inflate the moral superiority complexes of those that don't understand what is fun to some other people. So maybe there are more than one parallels between art contests and gambling.
"Lotteries and casinos are basically legitimised scams that prey on people who don't understand probability."
People who don't understand probability or maths will run into problems with many such things, but that doesn't describe every participant in such activities.
It is not just the participants they affect though. Lotteries inflate the ego of those that assume a linear utility value of money, and casinos inflate the moral superiority complexes of those that don't understand what is fun to some other people. So maybe there are more than one parallels between art contests and gambling.