Lotteries have been called a tax on the poor. Personally, I feel that the emphasis of this quote is on tax instead of poor. Since people seldom win lotteries, they are practically giving money away.
However, I think that the poor part refers to when they become addicted, they would spend a huge amount of money. This makes the money spent like a "tax" to poor people.
"He lost almost everything to a gambling addiction — his wife, his money, and the life he once knew. " this was taken from the internet and this sentence can tell us how dangerous gambling addiction can be. Actuallty, I support lottery but NOT LOTTERY ADDICTION. Buying lottery once in a while with small bets can be treated as a form of leisure. My mother does not support gambling as she thinks that lottery is using precious money to try her luck.
Biblography:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93191168
