Research shows that early childhood gambling experiences, including those with lottery products, can be a risk factor for gambling problems later in life.
The research prompted the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) and the International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behaviors at McGill University in Canada to join forces in launching the Responsible Gambling Holiday Lottery Campaign. Since 2002, the simple goal of the Campaign is to raise awareness about the risks of underage lottery play during the winter holiday season.
“The Responsible Gambling Holiday Lottery Campaign educates communities that lottery tickets, the form of gambling with the broadest participation, are not child’s play,” said NCPG Executive Director Keith Whyte.
In 2020, for the third year in a row, 100 percent of Canadian and U.S. lotteries, along with numerous international lotteries and non-lottery organizations and many NCPG members, have joined the Campaign to promote responsible gambling. The Campaign is also endorsed by the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries (NASPL) and the World Lottery Association (WLA).
Jeffrey Derevensky, director of the International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behaviors, said, “The Responsible Gambling Holiday Lottery Campaign is a great way to encourage responsible gambling by gifting lottery tickets responsibly only to adults.”
The 2020 Responsible Gambling Holiday Lottery Campaign participants include:
Lottery Level 3: Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission; British Columbia Lottery Corporation, Connecticut Lottery Corporation, D.C. Lottery, Hoosier Lottery, Illinois Lottery, Mississippi Lottery Corporation, Oregon State Lottery, Virginia Lottery.
Lottery Level 2: Arkansas Scholarship Lottery, Colorado Lottery, Georgia Lottery Corporation, Hrvatska Lutrija (Croatian Lottery), Iowa Lottery Authority, Kentucky Lottery Corporation, Lotto NZ (New Zealand), Massachusetts State Lottery, Minnesota Lottery, Missouri Lottery, North Carolina Education Lottery, Ohio Lottery Commission, Österreichische Lotterien GmbH (Austrian Lotteries), Pennsylvania Lottery, Rhode Island Lottery, South Dakota Lottery, Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation, Texas Lottery Commission.
Lottery Level 1: Arizona Lottery, Atlantic Lottery, California State Lottery, Delaware Lottery, Idaho Lottery, Kansas Lottery, Loto-Québec, Louisiana Lottery Corporation, Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries, Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency, Michigan Bureau of State Lottery, Montana Lottery, Nebraska Lottery, New Jersey Lottery, New Hampshire Lottery, New Mexico Lottery, Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation, Oklahoma Lottery, Ontario Lottery and Gaming, Saskatchewan Lotteries, Sazka Group Lottery (Europe), South Carolina Education Lottery, Vermont Lottery, Washington’s Lottery, West Virginia Lottery, Wisconsin Lottery, Wyoming Lottery Corporation.
Non-Lottery Participants: AdCare Educational Institute of Maine, Inc., Armstrong Indiana Clarion Drug & Alcohol Commission, Association of Problem Gambling Service Administrators, Big Village Crawford County Drug & Alcohol Executive Commission (CCDAEC), Council on Chemical Abuse, Employee & Family Resources, Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling, Holcomb Behavioral Health Systems, Illinois Council on Problem Gambling, Indiana Council on Problem Gambling, Jackpocket, Maine Council on Problem Gambling, Maryland Center of Excellence on Problem Gambling, Maryland Council on Problem Gambling, Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Health, Nebraska Council on Problem Gambling, Northstar Problem Gambling Alliance, Problem Gambling Services (Rhode Island), Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addictions, Oklahoma Association on Problem and Compulsive Gambling, Rhode Island Council on Problem Gambling, Scientific Games, South Suburban Council, Substance Abuse Services Center, Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities, Umatilla County Public Health.
