Don't Give Scratch Its To Kids For The Holidays

Around the holidays, children may receive lottery tickets and scratch-its in

holiday stockings or as gifts. With problem gambling and gambling addiction prevention in mind, Lincoln County Public Health is offering a reminder that lottery tickets and other gambling products are not suitable for anyone under age 18. The human brain is not fully developed until about age 25. Risky activities like gambling and substance use are especially exciting to developing brains and can lead to addiction and other risks later in life.

An easy way to help protect developing brains and prevent addiction is to keep things

like gambling and substances away from them completely -- this includes those scratch-its that you might find in stockings. For adults that choose to gamble, you can reduce your risk of developing a gambling problem by using the following guidelines:

 Set a time limit

 Set a dollar limit

 Don’t gamble on credit or borrowed money

 Don’t gamble to win back lost money (also known as “chasing losses”)

 Don’t gambling to cope with negative feeling or to escape

 Don’t let gambling be your only social or recreational activity

 Don’t let youth gamble

 Seek help if gambling becomes a problem for you or a loved one

In Oregon, problem gambling treatment is free and confidential. Treatment and support are available to anyone with a gambling disorder and anyone affected by someone’s gambling. For support and resources call or visit:  The Lincoln County Problem Gambling Treatment Program (541) 265-4196 (Mon-Fri 8am-5pm)

 Oregon Problem Gambling Resource at 1-877-My-LimitO or OPGR.org (available 24 hours a day)

If you would like to get involved with problem gambling prevention or would like more information, please contact: Jess Palma jpalma@co.lincoln.or.us Lincoln County Public Health, in collaboration with our community partners, provides leadership to assure the conditions for healthy communities.