During the holiday season, families frantically shop for last-minute gifts with the hopes of bringing a smile to their loved one’s face. During these days, many of the high-demand items are out of stock, which doesn’t leave you with many options.
Time for plan B…
For many, cash and gift cards are the easy way out. While they require less work to purchase, sometimes they are the best way to go to. While money doesn’t necessarily buy happiness, it sure can buy things that make you happy. But, what happens when gifting becomes gambling?
The lottery ticket gift craze:
Similar to gift cards, lottery tickets such as Powerball entries and scratch-offs are widely available and fit right in a wallet or purse. You won’t need a big box or extravagant wrapping paper. All you need to “wrap” a lottery ticket is an envelope (if that).
The interesting thing about choosing lottery tickets as gifts is that there is a chance that they become something of no value. While losing tickets still can be fun for some, winning tickets (believe it or not) can be even more problematic than a losing ticket.
For example: Let’s say you get a couple scratch-offs for your buddy Bobby for his birthday. The first ticket is a dud, but the second ticket wins $10. Bobby then has an important decision ahead of him.
Will he:
- Use that $10 to buy himself a gift.
- “Reinvest” that $10 back into lottery tickets.
For some personality types, neither option is a bad one, but for somebody prone to addiction or gambling, using winnings to wager back into gambling games can start a detrimental snowball effect that can hurt relationships, jobs and personal/family finances. In the above example, Bobby can use that $10 to buy more tickets, and let’s say he loses on all of them…Does it stop there? It might. But then again, it might not.
All we are saying is to be mindful when buying any sort of gambling-related gift for your friends, family and colleagues. People who want to learn how to gamble in NJ should research their options and see if it’s a good fit for them. Similar to lottery tickets, Atlantic City casino gambling is not for everyone. If you know somebody who may be on a path of self-destruction, there is hope. According to Neva Pryor of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey, “Helpful information regarding lottery gambling is readily available by calling 1-800-GAMBLER twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.”