SACRAMENTO – With the holidays coming up quickly, the California Lottery urges its players and retail partners to gift responsibly. This means NOT selling or gifting lottery products to minors!
The California Lottery is again proud to participate in the annual National Holiday Campaign to increase public awareness about the serious issue of youth gambling. The campaign is in partnership with the National Council on Problem Gambling and McGill University’s International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behaviors. Each participating state lottery offers additional outreach strategies to discourage the gifting of lottery tickets to minors during the holiday season while raising awareness about youth gambling.
The California Lottery’s “gift responsibly” campaign is a part of its responsible gaming program that strives to uphold the highest standards for the sale of its products. The California Lottery was the first in the country to receive the highest responsible gaming certification and recertification from the World Lottery Association (WLA) for its programs. The Lottery also promotes the statewide Problem Gambling Helpline (1-800-GAMBLER) on its products and communication channels. The campaign reminds players that Lottery tickets are meant to be played and purchased by individuals who are 18 years or older. Campaign messaging can be found on the Lottery’s social media channels, electronic-point-of-sale and its websites. Further, the California Lottery reminds players, as well as its network of more than 23,000 retailers, that the sale of Lottery products to anyone under the age of 18 is prohibited by law. This public awareness campaign stresses that Scratchers® aren’t toys and highlights the serious issue of youth gambling.
The Lottery holds the highest recertification from the WLA for its Responsible Gaming programs. As a WLA Level Four recipient, the Lottery has demonstrated that responsible gaming principles are part of its day-to-day operations and that these programs continue to improve.
For more information on the NCPG’s Lottery Holiday Campaign please visit http://www.ncpgambling.org/programs-resources/programs/holiday-lottery-campaign/ and to read more about the Lottery’s responsible gaming program please visitwww.californialottery.com.
The California Lottery is a $6 billion enterprise based in Sacramento. It is one of the few state agencies that is a revenue generator, not accepting taxpayer dollars from the State’s General Fund. Its mission is to provide supplemental funding to California schools while simultaneously supporting local communities. In FY 2017-18, the Lottery created 93 new millionaires. Ninety-five cents of every dollar spent by our players goes back to local communities in the form of contributions to public schools and colleges, prizes and retail compensation. The California Lottery urges its customers to play responsibly and within their budgets. If you feel you have a gambling problem, or know someone who does, you can get help at 1-800-GAMBLER.
www.calottery.com
