NCJ Number
150724
Date Published
1994
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Although Section 29 of the Massachusetts Lottery Law prohibits the sale of lottery tickets to anyone under 18 years of age, one survey found that minors succeeded in purchasing lottery tickets 80 percent of the time.
Abstract
Children as young as 9 years of age were able to purchase lottery tickets, and most sales agents failed to conspicuously post legally mandated notices about available help for problem gamblers. The Massachusetts Council on Compulsive gambling found extensive lottery participation among high school students in its survey of 2,127 high school students in 97 public schools; 47.1 percent of 7th graders and 74.6 percent of 12th graders had purchased lottery tickets. Many students reported that their gambling led to undesirable behavior, including family problems, neglect of school or work, and trouble with the law. Of the high school students, 13 percent were unable to resist the impulse to gamble, 4 percent sought help for their gambling, and 5 percent had been arrested for gambling-related problems. Provisions of the Massachusetts Lottery Law, particularly its prohibitions on the sale of lottery tickets to minors, are described. Recommendations to reduce the illegal sale of lottery tickets to minors are offered that concern training programs for sales agents and proof of age requirements for children and young adults who attempt to buy lottery tickets. 15 footnotes and 1 table