The Nova Scotia Gaming Foundation is cautioning parents to think twice before buying scratch tickets and other lottery items as stocking stuffers for their children under 18.

The Nova Scotia Gaming Foundation joins the Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation and the Atlantic Lottery Corporation in reminding parents and other adults that the sale of lottery tickets to minors is prohibited. According to the Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation, "Results from a recent study showed that 30 per cent of high school students received one or several lottery products as gifts during the past 12 months."

Information gleaned from the 2007 Nova Scotia Student Drug Use report indicates, "About 3% of students met the definition of at-risk gambling and 2% met the definition of problem gambling." The report also stated that "more males than females played cards for money, played lotteries, bet on sports activities, played VLTs, and played on internet gambling sites for money," while "males and females were equally likely to have played scratch tabs, break opens and bingo."

"What parents might not know is that, according to problem gambling experts at the International Youth International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behaviors, playing the lottery at a young age can increase the potential for problem gambling later in life", says Celeste Gotell, Executive Director of the Nova Scotia Gaming Foundation. "Games-of-chance given as stocking stuffers can seem like a fun, affordable and innocent holiday tradition, but for some at-risk youth it can potentially have long-term consequences," reminds Gotell.

The Nova Scotia Gaming Foundation is an arms-length, government, not-for-profit organization that provides funding and support for community and research projects aimed at problem gambling. Most Nova Scotians engage in some level of gambling without experiencing any adverse financial or social effects. A small minority however will develop gambling problems. Since its inception in 1998, the NSGF has provided almost $7 million in funding and support for problem gambling initiatives designed to help individuals, families and communities throughout Nova Scotia

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