The lottery promoters close their television advertisements with, “Please play responsibly.” This is an utter contradiction in terms.

If a society of people were to invest $1 million in the lottery, they could be sure of losing a large portion of the expenditure. Here and there people playing the lottery might “win” varying amounts. The “winnings” are dramatized to foster further hopeless investment in the lottery. Hapless individuals “play” at the expense of home, family and self respect.

The gambling enthusiasm seems to encourage other social irregularities. We become a society of losers. This criticism might well apply to casino gambling.

Harold L. Allen, Topsham