There are a number of things you can spend a small amount of money on with ultimately nothing to show for it but some brief enjoyment. It seems the author is encouraging his (non-addict, non-destitute) audience to reframe their thinking about what the lottery provides as entertainment value rather than simply being 'a tax on people who are bad at math' - even if you don't ultimately play, you don't have to view those who do in a negative light.

That's certainly how I used to feel, but once I started thinking of it as a lark rather than a blight, it just didn't seem like that big of a deal.