Minors Awareness Campaign for Lottery Tickets

For the fourth year, from mid-May to mid-July 2009, the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission will be promoting the Minors Awareness Education Campaign.

Through posters, merchandiser strips and newspaper ads, this campaign raises awareness among lottery ticket retailers and the public about the need to prevent youth from accessing lottery products.

The theme of the campaign is Under 18? All bets are off!, with the tagline, You bet. We’ll check. ID required. Lottery ticket retailers are reminded to request proof of age from anyone who appears to be a minor.

While some people believe that purchasing or playing lottery tickets is not really gambling and that minors should be allowed to play, lottery tickets are a form of gambling and should be restricted to adults only. Restricting minors’ access to all forms of gambling is a joint responsibility of government, licensees and the community.

Since lottery tickets were first introduced in Alberta in 1975, the AGLC has had a policy prohibiting the sale, scratching or redeeming of lottery ticket products to or by, minors.

Research initiated by AADAC (now Alberta Health Services) in 2005 (The Alberta Youth Experience Survey – TAYES) showed that over 60 per cent of youth participate in some form of gambling, with playing cards for money and playing scratch and win tickets identified as the most common activities. The AADAC research also indicated that the earlier an individual begins gambling, the more likely he or she is to experience problems with gambling later in life.