I've heard about similar regulatory barriers especially in finance so this does not surprise me.

A long time ago I remember reading about banks that want to provide incentives for saving that amount to basically lottery tickets. The idea is that people aren't thrilled about a savings account that pays 2%, but if instead they offered a monthly 1 in 50 chance to get 100% return (same expected value, ignore compounding), people would like that a lot more. But this amounted to essentially a lottery and that's a state monopoly.

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dmurray 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

Ireland, like the UK, has a system of Prize Bonds that work exactly like this, administered by the state. The expected return on them is actually quite competitive, depending on your tax situation.

Everyone here seems to have got a present of €20 Prize Bonds for a 10th birthday from an aunt or grandmother, yet people from outside are always surprised that such a product can exist.

	▲	mnahkies 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		My return on premium bonds this year (so far) is roughly 3.2% annualised - it's not bad considering that it's tax free, and secured by the government

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lurkshark 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

In the US they call those Prize-Linked Savings Accounts. They’re actually legalized in a majority of states but aren’t marketed particularly heavily (especially when compared to lotteries, sportsbooks, prediction markets, …)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prize-linked_savings_account

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jancsika 3 days ago | parent | prev [-]

What's the difference between a regulatory barrier and a Chesterton's fence?