He's not saying it's financially better to play the lottery than to invest in stocks. I interpreted it more as 'poor people play the lottery because it gives them hope that things will change'. A lottery ticket is more of an emotional choice because when you buy one, you get to imagine yourself in a life where you win.

Meanwhile, investing $250 in stocks once a year won't do much to change that person's life. Even if the total value of those stocks double in value in 10 years, that's 10 years of the person's life gone and they've managed to save only $5,000. That's pretty grim