Illinois Lottery wins National Award for Underage Play Prevention Ad Campaign

CHICAGO, July 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Illinois Lottery has received a prestigious, national award for its effective use of responsible gaming messaging during last winter's holiday season. The Best Holiday Campaign award went to the Illinois Lottery earlier this month at the 28^th Annual Meeting of the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) in Orlando, Florida.  

As part of its commitment to underage play prevention, the Illinois Lottery joined 37 other gaming corporations in the 2013 annual Holiday Campaign--a collaborative initiative of the NCPG and Canada's McGill University International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behaviors. The collaborative highlight the risks of giving lottery tickets and scratch cards as holiday gifts to minors.

While holiday instant tickets can make great gifts and/or stocking stuffers, they are only for adults. Lottery tickets can only be legally purchased by adults and should only be given to those age 18 and older.  2013 was the sixth year that the NCPG and the International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behaviors partnered with lotteries to promote this message.

"The Illinois Lottery is proud to receive this award and will continue to promote responsible gaming in all facets of our operations," said Michael Jones, director of the Illinois Lottery.   "We are committed to preventing underage and excessive play," said Jones.  "During the holiday season and throughout the year, the message we emphasize is:  'Play responsibly; give responsibly'."  The Illinois Lottery is one of only five U.S. lotteries to have achieved Level Three certification for Responsible Gaming practices from the World Lottery Association —the 2^nd highest level possible. 

Playing the lottery can be fun and exciting. The possibility of life changing jackpots, daily wins and instant prizes not only creates excitement in players, it can also bring risks for players. The Illinois Lottery is committed to ensuring that consumers know the odds and are protected from potential risks including gambling addictions, fraud schemes and underage play.

About Illinois Lottery

Founded in 1974, the Illinois Lottery has contributed over $18 billion to the state's Common School Fund to assist K-12 public schools, as well as hundreds of millions of dollars to the Capital Projects Fund and to special causes like Illinois Veterans, the fight against breast cancer, MS research, and assistance for people living with HIV/AIDS. In addition to playing in-store, the Illinois Lottery offers online and mobile play for Mega Millions, Powerball and Lotto at illinoislottery.com. Players must be at least 18 years old.

SOURCE Illinois Lottery