Illinois, It’s Illegal To Give Kids Lottery Tickets For Christmas

If you read the headline and thought to yourself, "Duh," that's good. Some people in Illinois and even Iowa forget that you can't give kids and some young adults lottery tickets as a present during the holiday season.

Yes, scratch-off tickets make great stocking stuffers and Powerball tickets worth millions don't hurt either. But you can't be stuffing little Johnny's stocking with a lottery ticket if he isn't of age. It's illegal and you know better.

Illinois Lottery Tickets Are NOT Christmas Gifts For Kids

With the holiday gift-giving season underway, the Illinois Lottery is reminding players that lottery games are for grown-ups, not kids.

This holiday season, the Illinois Lottery is once again partnering with the Illinois Council on Problem Gambling (ICPG) in the Gift Responsibly Campaign. The annual holiday campaign, spearheaded by the National Council on Problem Gambling, is designed to increase public awareness of the impact and inappropriateness of giving lottery products as gifts to minors.

The legal age to play the lottery in both Illinois and Iowa is 18. Anyone under that age is gambling illegally and adults helping them could face serious consequences.

Harold Mays, Illinois Lottery Director said,

“While lottery tickets may seem like an easy gift idea, they are not suitable for children and can unintentionally expose them to risky gambling behaviors from an early age. The Illinois Lottery encourages players to consider this impact, and the recipient, before adding lottery tickets to holiday stockings. Through our Gift Responsibly campaign, the lottery is working to shift public attitudes and remind families that lottery games are designed to be a responsibly played form of entertainment for adults only.”

The Illinois Lottery joins a network of more than 80 national and international lotteries encouraging players to gamble responsibly and to help keep the holiday season festive by gifting lottery tickets only to adults. Non-lottery organizations are also participating in the campaign as an effort to increase awareness of the risks of underage lottery play during the holiday season.

In addition to the Gift Responsibly campaign, the Illinois Lottery promotes responsible play year-round by reminding players to Be Smart, Play Smart®. Players are encouraged to play for fun, not funds, and to set a budget and stick to it. For more information on how to play and gift responsibly, please go to the Illinois Lottery website and visit the Responsible Gaming page.

If you or someone you know may be experiencing problems when playing lottery games, please call 1-800-GAMBLER. This toll-free helpline is answered by trained specialists 24/7/365.