Dear Booldawg,
You are spot-on - it is a tax on the poor and for the reason you give - HOPE (to get them out of the poverty hole). The rich can get richer in much easier ways like tax avoidance and investment in insider information on various activities from take-overs to horse racing (proven facts). Anyway, as a percentage of their income a lottery flutter is peanuts.
But if it's run by a private company how is it a tax? Answer - 'cos the government sanction them, knowing that for every £1 the poor give to Camelot a fraction of it goes to them via corporation tax.
A side-note Camelot have a guaranteed monopoly from the govt. So the company recently promising to keep the cost down to £1 per line plus a billion to good causes will be turned down - wait and see. Branson was turned down long ago. Interesting this love affair - maybe politicians get a back-hander via shareholding or lobbying? Question not accusation!
If the last question is "yes", it's a tax PLUS a scam.
Regards,
SIQ.