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"a chance out of poverty" or "a wish to end all your financial problems" - it means the same thing: paying a small amount of money on a chance that it will pay off big. In my opinion the term investment is correctly applied here in that there is money spent that will hopefuly give gains greater than the initial sum put in.

Though, what I actually read from your statement is that you take issue with the fact that there is an implied process and underlying strategy that isn't reflected in your experience.

My experience suggests a bit of both sides. My father and my foster father both purchased tickets regularly. A percentage of their earnings went, each week, to these tickets. It was the hope of a large return that drove them (and, one could argue, addictive properties of their personality) to spend what meager funds they had on this unbalanced game. They did this EVERY WEEK.

So, although there were parts relating to addiction, they honestly believed that a better life was possible and that the payoff was worth the money they put into it, day after day. I consider it an investment on their part. A dumb investement strategy and one biased towards instant gratification, but a strategy nonetheless.

In the end, I don't think the report mischaracterized the phenomenon, just isolated one part of a large social issue and reported on it.

Eric