The British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) has called for responsibility among parents this Christmas and abstain from gifting their children lottery products.
A reminder put out by Ryan McCarthy, BCLC’s Director of Player Health, read that while Scratch & Win tickets are “great stocking stuffers” for adults, they are not for kids.
“Children who have early encounters with gambling are four times more likely to develop riskier gambling behaviour as they grow up,” McCarthy said. “While people are out shopping for those last-minute gifts, BCLC wants adults to be aware of the potential risks associated with gifting lottery products to children and to consider safer alternatives.”
Regulations in British Columbia strictly prohibit the sale of lottery products to anyone under the age of 19.
However, McCarthy believes that besides the state, the responsibility to educate kids about harmful gambling also falls with parents.
“Open and honest conversations are crucial when it comes to navigating childhood exposure to gambling,” McCarthy said.
He highlighted several ways in which parents can step up to protect their children from gambling-associated harms, one of which is to monitor gambling-related lifestyle changes that include developing a positive attitude towards gambling.
While Scratch & Win tickets are among “the most common ways” to expose children to gambling, the BCLC also acknowledged that other forms of gambling content, such as gambling streams, can also lead to negative consequences.
Dr. Luke Clark, Director for Gambling Research at the University of British Columbia (UBC), added: “With the convergence of gaming and gambling, youth are becoming more exposed to gambling content in online spaces like streaming sites, where creators are able to live-stream their own gambling, usually while playing online slots and instant games.”
“Our research at the UBC Centre for Gambling shows that a higher frequency of watching online gambling streams is associated with a more positive attitude towards gambling and a high intention to gamble in the future.”