The National Council on Problem Gaming (NCPG) is soliciting participants for the 2016 Holiday Lottery Campaign. The theme is “Give Responsibly: Lottery Tickets Aren’t Child’s Play.” This is the ninth year of the campaign. In 2015, NCPG had 42 lotteries participate.
NCPG and McGill University coordinate the campaign. “The campaign is critical because lottery tickets are popular gifts for kids even though we know that early onset of gambling is a risk factor for the development of gambling addiction,” explained NCPG Executive Director Keith Whyte. “Our public opinion surveys also show that many parents are not aware of or concerned about youth gambling addiction.”
There are multiple wayshow lotteries can participate in the program. “The campaign is extremely flexible and we encourage lotteries to be innovative and to incorporate messages into existing campaigns,” said Whyte. “Participation can be as simple as a press release or as extensive as a multi-media campaign.”
Social media execution is also critical. “We are seeing a lot more lotteries use social media for the campaign, including some really creative web banners and brief online video clips that can be easily streamed and shared,” reported Whyte.
Multiple lottery associations endorse the holiday program for its member. “We welcome the support of all lotteries—North American and international. We thank the WLA, NASPL and EL for their endorsement and continued support,” said Lynette Gilbeau, Research Coordinator at McGill University’s International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems.
NCPG is actively encouraging more lotteries to participate. “Lynette has done a tremendous job with Canadian lotteries and we expect to have every Canadian lottery participate again this year,” said Whyte. “For the U.S., where responsible gaming is not as engrained, I’d love to see us grow from about half of American lotteries to three-quarters this year, especially since we again have NASPL’s endorsement.”
B.C. Lottery Corp. won the Best 2015 Holiday Lottery campaign. The lottery disseminated its “Some gifts just aren’t meant for kids” message through two parenting blogs (The Cheerio Diaries and Modern Mama) as well as BCLC-owned assets, according to NCPG.