I thought the answer to that was obvious. To make money for the Government that runs it, to the tune of 40 to 50% of the takings which purportedly is used for good causes. The balance is given back to the punters.
Now, in the process of doing this they create big prizes which are won by a minuscule amount of the participants and trifling amounts are given to the rest. They also make advertisements which lead people to think it's very easy to win - I'm sure a private corporation that advertised it's products in the same way would be in trouble.
The best way to look at your participation is as a voluntary tax. Only spend what you can afford to lose. For some it's a small price for a very big dream that makes in some cases life to be tolerable in other cases a nice boost along in life and in other cases a chance for parents to help their children etc etc.
Now there are a few people in this world like myself and presumably other members of this forum who see a challenge in the advertising put out by the Lotto Boards that it is impossible to improve on the odds and no system works. Based on the the figures and how they were presented that I recently posted on the SUMS thread I think the time is coming when they will have to at least concede that a marginal improvement is possible.
Regards
Colin
PS I used the spelling checker - what a good boy am I.