Bev, very well put!! My feelings exactly.
Regarding the obligation of the ticket holder, it's true that contracts are usually bilateral, that is, 2 people make enforceable promises based on anticipated future events. (I had to memorize features of a contract for some state exams.) So if you hire someone to fix your leaky roof and promise to pay that person, you have a contract. If he buys the materials and fixes your roof, you are obligated to pay him since you both agreed this would happen in the future whether or not money exchanged hands at the time of the agreement. So in this case, I agree with KY Floyd regarding the contract.
However, it would be very tough to prove the lottery ticket case in a court of law (you wouldn't have a picture of the roof you just repaired) unless someone witnessed this conversation or there was a recorded document. Anyone in the world can say "she promised me this" and be lying.
the person agrees to give you the dollar as soon as they go on break.
This is a very important statement. If you have an agreement to collect a 40% deposit to cover the roofing materials before you begin the job, you should not continue the work until that money has been paid. The homeowner could say "I changed my mind, which is why I didn't pay him for the materials before he started the work." So in this particular case, the contract might be null & void, since the money was never collected and the colleague agreed to pay at a specific time & date.
Forgetting what anyone feels is legal or illegal..my personal viewpoint is this:
As Sophia would say on The Golden Girls...."Picture this, Sicily, 1933".... Back in Boston I had a friend who would ask me to buy her a ticket once in a while. She even had her own numbers. I told her "no money, no ticket." She once gave me the dirtiest look when I was walking into a store and she said "here, play these numbers for me." I said "sure, but the ticket is mine until you give me a dollar." She couldn't understand it. She even said "but they're my personal numbers." If someone here can't understand my attitude, that's okay. We just have different ideas about meeting obligations.
For a person to say "I'm very fair & honest" sounds extremely self-righteous. However, I really believe strongly that I'm an honest person. I just have certain rules and stick to them. When it comes to gambling, I believe in paying up or shutting up.