Yeah, it makes no sense, I can't believe that the report said this too:
>The large groups had bought some $40 million in tickets, $16 million of which was revenue for the state.
No, actually it was negative revenue, since the state payed out more than $40 million in prizes.
The payout comes from the other bettors losing bets. The state never loses in a lottery.
>The lottery had worked how it was designed to work. In fact, as one financial reporter for Reuters would argue in the days after the report’s release, Cash WinFall was possibly more fair than other lottery games, because it attracted rich players as well as poor ones. Instead of taxing only the poor, it taxed the rich too.
If you're making a profit, you aren't being taxed. Winfall is, in fact less fair - because not only do poor people lose money, but rich people gain money.