Parental Caution: MI Lottery Issues Warning – Advises Against Giving Lottery Tickets to Children

The Michigan Lottery is reminding people not to give lottery tickets to minors as they finish up their holiday shopping.

On Monday, the Michigan Lottery announced that it would be launching an advertising campaign encouraging individuals to give gifts responsibly. The advertisements will air on radio and social media, among other platforms.

Since you have to be eighteen to play the lottery, you shouldn’t give lottery tickets to children. This includes tickets for instant games, Powerball, Mega Millions, and other popular holiday gifts.

The lottery also served as a reminder to refrain from gambling under duress.

“Some people may experience stress during the holidays, so it’s advisable to avoid gaming activities during stressful times,” the statement read. “The lottery reminds players that the best wager is always to know your limits.”

North Jersey says a similar thing regarding purchasing a lottery ticket as a holiday gift. Did you think of doing that too? Here’s what they said:

Lottery tickets are frequently given as smaller gifts to go with the larger gifts. They are inexpensive, readily foldable, and available almost anywhere.

Although it is against the law to buy lottery tickets for someone under the age of 18, it is legal to give tickets to minors. The true issue with the gifts, according to Neva Pryor, executive director of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey, is that they may lead kids down a path toward addictive behavior.

“The younger a child engages in an addictive behavior, the more likely they’ll have a problem in the future,” Pryor stated.

Unexpectedly, according to Pryor, the average age at which people start gambling is between 8 and 9 years old. In reality, a lot of games that aren’t typically considered gambling, like bingo, are. even in the absence of a visible casino or roulette table.

According to Pryor, exposing kids to the rush of endorphins and instant gratification that come with winning money creates the foundation for compulsive gambling. The rush is more important than the money.

James Carey, the state lottery commission’s acting executive director, claimed that children are unaware of the true workings of gambling. “If you give them a lottery ticket and they play it and become attracted to it, there’s a possibility of creating a problem gambler in the future.”

Unintended consequences of gifting lottery ticket to children

The Allure of a Freebie

During the holidays, lottery tickets and scratch-off tickets, commonly referred to as “scratchers,” are common presents. You can buy them in bulk for a low price so that everyone can share in the fun. They fit neatly in a greeting card envelope or a stocking above the fireplace. With their many games and prizes, as well as their jolly and ornamental designs, scratch-offs make it difficult to remember that you’re genuinely gambling with real money.

Furthermore, scratchers provide immediate satisfaction. While winning lottery numbers are revealed several hours or days after the ticket is bought, winnings from scratchers are visible right away, resulting in a higher endorphin rush. This can start the process of creating the foundation for a gambling problem in the future, especially in young children.

What you are teaching to the child

Even though winning a scratch-off ticket is exciting for an adult, you realize it was mostly luck and is unlikely to happen frequently. However, in a child’s perspective, winning can hold greater significance. An adult would undoubtedly be grateful for a $40 prize, but a young teen may be more impacted by the same prize and be enticed to play again.

“The recipient’s age should be taken into consideration if you decide to give a lottery ticket as a gift this holiday season,” says Neva Pryor, executive director of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey. “A child is more likely to experience problems in the future if they engage in such behavior at a younger age.”

Don’t let the festive patterns and vibrant colors deceive you. Scratch-offs may appear to be a harmless present that anyone can receive, but they can give kids the wrong idea about gambling and set them up for a problem with gambling in the future.

Early gamblers

According to a study published in the journal Adolescent Health on September 19 by Yale School of Medicine researchers, children who receive instant lottery tickets as gifts have a tendency to start gambling earlier in life, which may be a risk factor for more serious gambling disorders later.

A study of about 2,000 Connecticut high school students found that children and teenagers who received scratch lottery tickets as gifts have more lenient views toward gambling than children and teenagers who did not receive tickets as gifts.

Additionally, among individuals who won lottery tickets, there was a higher correlation between the age at which gambling began and the severity of problem gambling, according to research. Whether or not students had received lottery tickets as gifts, there was a correlation between the severity of problem gambling and other factors like depression and alcohol and drug abuse. Because the study did not track students over time, it was not possible to ascertain whether early lottery ticket gifts had an impact on problem gambling later on. The survey does, however, corroborate recent findings that indicate early gambling experience is linked to problems later on, such as trouble quitting even when faced with significant gambling-related life challenges.

“Our study indicates that loved ones and friends ought to think twice before presenting lottery tickets as gifts to kids or teenagers,” said Marc Potenza, senior author of the study and a professor of neurobiology, psychiatry, and child studies.

According to Potenza, the Connecticut Lottery has also issued a warning against young people purchasing lottery tickets.

The research was funded by the Connecticut State Department of Mental Health and Addictions Services and the National Institutes of Health.

Lead author Priya V. Kundu and Yale investigators Corey E. Pilver, Rani A. Desai, and Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin are among the other authors on the paper.