Then maybe you don't follow under the demographic of "needy"

My mother also spends $2 on them. Sometimes a couple times a day. She also compulsively gambles and has endangered my life before trying to satiate the urge.

I also grew up absolutely dirt poor, she was homeless half the time, but two unwavering constants in her life have been cigarettes and gambling, and they are far from unrelated when speaking of industry motivations. These industries have ruined my relationship with my mother, severely impacted my own quality of life as a knock-on effect, and I'm far from the only one.

Keep buying the tickets. But you can't justify the state of the industry today because you're not the one caught in its net.