> For some people winning the lottery (even smaller prices) is literally the only "realistic" way of getting a moderate amount of "wealth"

That itself is questionable. Let's say somebody of poor socioeconomic background wins $100,000 in the lottery. Would they suddenly make reasonable financial choices with that money and "make it"? It's possible. But it would require completely changing the mindset that made them play the lottery in the first place. You know, the "It's a gamble and it's risky, but I feel like it's all about God." mindset. Possible. But unlikely, if you ask me.

This is a poor argument in favor of lotteries. It would be more beneficial for people in those areas to have less incentive to burn their money on lottery tickets, and the money that does get burned go to better education and improving conditions for them to climb the social latter and provide more realistic ways for building wealth. Instead of hoping for God's intervention through lottery wins.

Of course it's a poor argument and your arguement points in the right direction (though I don't have enough data to confidently make a statement about peoples ability to manage their finances)

But people like to dream and everybody knows that someone wins the lottery.

But that's partially the point, people's dreams of escaping their situation is used to exploit them. Then the state is funneling the money out of the most poor and desperate, which is out right depravity, to benefit mostly everybody else except who they take from the most.

That's not a fair and equitable system, nor arguably the way states should be managing such lotteries, particularly the profits from them.