According to the Française des Jeux, the operator of France’s lottery system, “Ninety-five percent of French people use scratching cards as a recreational practice.”
Nineteen million people in that country play scratchers regularly and 5 percent never miss a chance to play. That’s almost one million French.
This has caused the Addiction Federation to express concern, who president, Jean-Pierre Couteron said recently “The trap is that the stake is small, 1 euro, 5 euros, and promises gains (in some cases) of 200,000 euros (or more). We have the impression that for a minimum risk we will win a lot.” He suggests the lottery introduce a card similar to a casino loyalty card that would warn them when they are playing irresponsibly.
