“Don’t invest in crypto, but invest in family and friends,” says happiness professor Patrick. Because investing in crypto doesn’t make you happy at all, Patrick from the Staatsloterij seems to say. Shots fired!
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Staatsloterij makes you happy
It’s New Year’s Eve and you quickly buy a New Year’s Eve ticket for 30 euros. What you get in return is a piece of paper and the chance to win a prize. Great, now wait.
While we wait, here are a few figures: In 2022, 7,166,000 New Year’s Eve tickets were sold. According to the Staatsloterij, no less than “2268 tickets flew over the counter per minute.” In short, the Dutch love buying state locks.
And of course the government is crazy about the fact that the Dutch love it (read: gambling). That will fill the state coffers. In 2022, to be precise, it will receive 123 million euros in dividends. On top of that there is also the tax money that is collected.
With our New Year’s Eve slot we have a 51.6% chance of winning something, with an emphasis on something. At least there’s a chance we will break even hatch rate is only 13.7%.
In other words, we have a small chance of coming out unscathed, an even smaller chance of coming out with a profit and an even smaller chance of seeing anything like a ‘mega jackpot’.
On the other hand, we do have a significant chance of winning a small amount (51.6%), and that our gambling addiction will be further fueled. Win win! … for the Staatsloterij.
Bitcoin is the same as gambling, right?
I find the insinuation that investing in crypto makes you unhappy “and it is better to invest in your friends and family” strange. Especially if it comes from the Staatsloterij. A state-owned company that depends, among other things, on keeping addict-prone gamblers in line.
Bitcoin (BTC), and many other cryptos, is a technology you invest in. If you buy bitcoin and put it in your wallet, that piece of digital value is really yours. Forever. You thereby invest in a possible future in which honest financial services make our world a bit better. After all, Bitcoin belongs to everyone, for everyone.
Sure, a lot of us are in crypto hoping to make a profit. But I dare say with certainty that many of us also understand what crypto stands for; transparency, safety, inclusivity and so on. Investing in crypto is certainly not the same as gambling, depending on the project legit is natural.
What would make me happier? If I had to choose between bitcoin or a government lottery ticket, I would rather put €17.50 (the price of a government lottery ticket) per month in bitcoin than spend it every month on most likely worthless government lottery tickets.