The rule changes have resulted in more jackpot rollovers, which make for much bigger prizes—the sorts of prizes that get media attention. And people are not buying tickets for the expected value; they are buying the permission to dream. Having a non-zero chance of winning a life-changing amount of money allows someone to dream about that version of their life. The more publicity a lottery draw gets and the more life-changing the prizes are, the bigger those dreams can be. Which is, arguably, better value.
