About half of Americans play the lottery, with total sales topping $100 billion! While some are lucky enough to have a winning combination, you have a greater chance of being struck by lightning than winning the lottery. So, why do people play?
 
Dr. Phil and Les Bernal, National Director of the Stop Predatory Gambling Organization, say they have an idea.
 

“This is in fact an addiction. People can get addicted to this just like they do with drugs,” Dr. Phil says. “It does hijack parts of the brain, the pleasure centers of the brain, and we see these light up the same way we do with drug addiction.”
 
“Over the next eight years, the American people are going to lose more than $1 trillion of personal wealth to commercialized gambling. Half of that is coming from state lotteries,” Bernal adds. “It’s a big con. State lotteries are a financial exchange that are mathematically stacked against you, that the longer you participate in it, you’re going to lose everything.”
 
Hear more of their warning in the video above. 
 
On Monday’s episode of Dr. Phil, “The Curse of the Lottery,” a woman who won the British lottery at 17 shares how it changed her life – both positively and negatively. And, a woman says she is addicted to playing the lottery and can’t stop. Check local listings to see where you can watch.

If you or a loved one suffers from a gambling addiction, call Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2CALLGA (222-5542) or visit: www.gamblersinrecovery.com.

WATCH: ‘I’m Addicted To Playing Lottery Scratch-Off Games,’ Woman Says

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