Minors Awareness
Campaign for Lottery Tickets
 For
the third year, from mid-May to mid-August, the Alberta Gaming and
Liquor Commission will be promoting the Minors Awareness
Education Campaign. This
campaign is targeted at lottery ticket retailers and the public to
raise awareness of preventing youth access to lottery products, using
a variety of materials, including posters and newspaper ads. 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.
Research initiated by AADAC
in 2005 showed that over 60 per cent of youth participate in
some form of gambling, with the most common youth gambling activities
being playing cards for money and playing scratch and win tickets.
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. While some people believe that purchasing
or playing lottery tickets is not a serious form of 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 the campaign began in 2006 it has included cross-province audits
of ticket retailers, to estimate compliance with the requirement
to request ID from customers who appeared to be under 18 years of
age. This year’s campaign again includes an audit and plans
to expand the foundation of the campaign with research comprising
a survey and focus groups.
For more information on the Minors Awareness Education
Campaign for lottery ticket products please see:
2008 Campaign
2007 Campaign
2006 Campaign
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