Lottery Tickets For Kids? Not A Good Idea

By David Madden

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J., (CBS) -- The New Jersey Lottery wants to ensure that kids aren't playing, and that gets a little difficult during the holiday season.

Those instant games are great little gifts in a card. Who knows what can happen, right? But here's a warning.

While it's illegal for a child to gamble, it's not for an adult to give a ticket to a child. "If a grandparent or a parent stuck a lottery ticket inside a stocking for a child, they should teach them at the same time what the risks of gambling are or what the chances of winning are," New Jersey Lottery Director Carole Hedinger told KYW Newsradio.

The lottery is teaming up with the Council on Compulsive Gambling to get that message out. While there are no statistics on kids playing the lottery, if a child were to get a winning ticket, an adult would have to cash it in.