Inability to reason statistically is prime cause of lottery fever

doi:10.1136/bmj.311.7014.1225b

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Raj Persaud

Consultant psychiatrist Croydon Mental Health Services, Westways Rehabilitation Unit, West Croydon, Surrey CR9 2RR

EDITOR,--In their editorial Martin McKee and Franco Sassi express concerns about the public health consequences of the National Lottery, particularly in relation to its encouragement of gambling, redistributive wealth effects, and implications for donations to medical charities.1 Several important points, however, are neglected. Firstly, the forces driving the spread of lotteries may be more powerful than the authors realise: in the United States, state lottery …