Lottery tickets make great last minute gifts, but not for children. That’s the message the North Carolina Education Lottery and the North Carolina Problem Gambling Program are asking the public to help share this holiday season.

“As we know from talking with lottery winners, many folks in our state give lottery tickets as gifts during the holiday season,” said Mark Michalko, executive director of the N.C. Education Lottery. “We want to keep that tradition alive, but also prevent lottery tickets from ending up in the hands of minors.”

To help spread the message, the Education Lottery and the North Carolina Problem Gambling Program are joining more than 80 lotteries and organizations around the world in an annual holiday prevention campaign.

“We know that some who experience a problem with gambling report their first experience came from playing when they were young,” said Amanda Winters, state administrator of the N.C. Problem Gambling Program. “That’s why this campaign is so important. We encourage everyone to partner with us and the North Carolina Education Lottery in helping to remind folks that lottery games are not for children under 18.”

Besides supporting the holiday campaign, the Education Lottery takes steps year-round to prevent those under 18 from playing. They include:

• Printing a “You Must Be 18 Years of Age To Play” reminder on every ticket and advertising and marketing materials.
• Requiring scans of drivers’ licenses before accessing lottery vending machines.
• Training lottery retailers to check IDs before selling lottery tickets.
• Enforcing the no sales to a minor law in a partnership with state law enforcement agencies.
• Providing $1 million a year to support the N.C. Problem Gambling Program, which provides an evidence-based gambling prevention program to middle school and high school students in the state.

The lottery’s efforts in promoting responsible play are part of its corporate social responsibility program and are commitments the lottery made as it achieved the highest level of responsible gaming certification recognized internationally. The Level 4 accreditation from the World Lottery Association attested that the lottery has implemented responsible gaming practices into its day-to-day operations and is committed to continuous improvement of them.

For more information on the campaign, visit www.ncpgambling.org/holiday. If you or someone you care about has a problem with gambling, visit morethanagamenc.com.