Frankly, yes. Government-run lotteries are a pretty abusive practice that should be ended.

John Oliver has a great segment on this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PK-netuhHA

Actually yes, I know an economist (working for the BCE) half-jokingly preaching it. According to him, lottery should be reserved to people who can afford to lose 10$.

In fairness to the lottery, few people consider it to be a sensible place to stick 50% of their net worth. Bearing in mind that top startups - which generate nearly all the return to VCs - have a marked preference for "smart money" and the majority of startups ventures fail hard, most lotteries probably have a higher expected value than retail investors are likely to see from the average crowdfunding portfolio.

luckily the new regs don't allow you to invest 50% of your net worth.

If I understand correctly, the 10% of net worth restriction applies to investments in a single startup.

That being the case you can guarantee there will be commission-earning intermediaries or platforms misrepresenting the concept of portfolio diversification to encourage people to invest in as many startups as they can afford...