Parents asked to limit lottery ticket gifts for minors

An Eastern Iowa hospital is joining a campaign to encourage public awareness of the effects of purchasing lottery tickets as holiday gifts for children.

Here's the news release from Allen Hospital in Des Moines:

Lottery tickets and scratch cards are becoming increasingly popular as gifts during the holiday season. As an affordable, colorful and potentially promising gift, they often find their way into the hands of youth.Allen Hospital's Gambling Treatment Program and the National Council on Problem Gambling are collaborating this holiday season to increase public awareness about the effect of giving lottery products as gifts to minors. Results from a recent national study showed that 19 percent of high school students received one or more lottery tickets or scratch cards as gifts, 86 percent of which came from a family member.According to the National Council on Problem Gambling, there is empirical evidence suggesting that 70-80 percent of adolescents report having gambled for money in the past year, and approximately 30 percent report gambling on a weekly basis. Many problem gamblers say they began gambling during childhood at ages 9 to 10.

Allen Hospital's Gambling Treatment Program and the National Council on Problem Gambling are collaborating this holiday season to increase public awareness about the effect of giving lottery products as gifts to minors. Results from a recent national study showed that 19 percent of high school students received one or more lottery tickets or scratch cards as gifts, 86 percent of which came from a family member.

According to the National Council on Problem Gambling, there is empirical evidence suggesting that 70-80 percent of adolescents report having gambled for money in the past year, and approximately 30 percent report gambling on a weekly basis. Many problem gamblers say they began gambling during childhood at ages 9 to 10.

The National Council on Problem Gambling and Allen Hospital's Gambling Treatment Program encourage you to give the gift of responsibility this year. The sale of lottery products is reserved to those 21-years-old and older in Iowa. Holiday-themed scratch-offs are a popular gift this time of year, but they should be given to people who are old enough to play legally.