The New York Gaming Commission has announced that its Lottery Division, the New York Lottery, has once again joined the National Council on Problem Gambling’s Gift Responsibly advocacy campaign.
This is the seventh consecutive year the commission has joined the cause to raise awareness of the risks associated with giving lottery products as gifts to minors, in conjunction with its Responsible Play Partnership colleagues, which include the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports and the New York Council on Problem Gambling.
The New York Lottery Director Gweneth Dean said: “We’ve spoken with subject matter experts and reviewed available research linking youth gambling to other risky youth behaviours.
“We believe that it is important to make every effort to work with retailers and the public to enforce the law prohibiting the sale of Lottery products to young people. These principles serve as the foundation for our annual Gift Responsibly messaging.”
The central theme in the lottery’s Gift Responsibly public service campaign is ‘Age Matters’ when it comes to selecting gifts for family and friends.
National Council Executive Director Keith Whyte commended the lottery for expanding what started as a limited, holiday-themed reminder that lottery tickets are not for children, into a message that sustains public awareness year-round.
Whyte commented: “We appreciate that New York has long been a leader in underage gambling prevention efforts.
“The research is clear that the earlier children start to gamble the more likely they are to have gambling problems later in life. We applaud the commission and lottery for their efforts to remind retailers and customers to refrain from giving lottery tickets as gifts to kids.”
New York’s extended Age Matters public service campaign will begin this month and run through until January 2021.
The New York Lottery is one of 55 US and 15 international lottery jurisdictions participating in the Gift Responsibly initiative.