Scratch Tickets Research Articles

Young Poker Faces

Gambling is an activity that can be performed on-premise (slot machines in casinos, bars and restaurants) or off-premise (scratch cards and lottery tickets). Although the addictive potential may depend on the specific gambling product, early onset increases the likelihood for future pathological gambling. To delay the onset of gambling behavior and to reduce gambling-related problems, many countries have introduced age limits that should decrease the availability of gambling products to underage individuals. In this study we evaluated compliance to the legal age limit, making use of a mystery shopping method. We distinguished between (1) off-premise scratch cards (n = 51); (2) off-premise lottery tickets (n = 49); (3) on-premise slot machines in casinos (n = 88); and (4) on-premise slot machines in the catering industry (n = 100), and we focus on the factors, such as characteristics of the establishment, buyer, and vendor, that may account for possible differences. The 288 visits demonstrate that gambling products are highly available and accessible to under-aged customers; young customers are still able to gamble despite the legal regulations. The compliance rates fluctuate and appear to be related to the specific gambling product in question. Furthermore, age verification activities and certain outlet- and buyer characteristics, as well as characteristics associated with the purchase attempt, may influence compliance.

The Effect of Lottery Scratch Tickets and Donation Offers on Response Fraction

Monetary incentives are the most effective way of increasing response to postal questionnaires; however, mailing currency is prohibited in many countries. Hence, nonmonetary incentives, such as lottery scratch tickets and donation offers, have been used. The effectiveness of different types of nonmonetary incentives is unclear, however. Two randomized controlled studies and meta-analyses were conducted to investigate the effect of two types of nonmonetary incentives on response. In the first study, the authors found that participants who received an unconditional lottery scratch ticket at invitation were 24% more likely to take part, while in the second study, the authors found that unconditional lottery scratch tickets and donation offers had a similar effect on response. The meta-analyses show that unconditional lottery scratch tickets significantly increase the chance of response by 9%, conditional scratch tickets have no effect, and donation offers cause a nonsignificant 4% increase in the chance of response. Unconditional lottery scratch tickets provide a modest increase in the likelihood of response.

Trauma History and Severity of Gambling Involvement among Horse-Race Gamblers in a South African Gambling Setting

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the frequency of gambling involvement and the prevalence of problem gambling among horse race gamblers and to discover whether problem gambling in this sample is associated with a history of trauma. Among a sample of 266 South African horse-race gamblers (94% men and 6% women, Mage 46.8 yr., SD = 13.9, range 18-85 years), 31.2% were classified as probable pathological gamblers and 19.9% with problem gambling. Major weekly gambling activities included racetrack betting (82%), purchase of lottery tickets or scratch tickets (35%), purchase of sports lottery tickets (23%), and using casino type games (18%). Trauma history was significantly associated with gambling severity.

Scratch lottery tickets are a poor incentive to respond to mailed questionnaires

BackgroundIt has been demonstrated that the enclosure of money with a mailed questionnaire increases the response rate significantly. We evaluated scratch lottery tickets as an alternative to cash.Methods1500 randomly selected Norwegians between the ages of 40 and 65 years were sent a short questionnaire. 250 received one lottery scratch ticket worth 20 Norwegian kroner (approximately 3 US$) together with the questionnaire, 250 received two scratch tickets, and 250 were promised two scratch tickets if they replied within one week. A fourth group of 250 persons received a 50 kroner banknote with the questionnaire. The remaining 500 letters served as controls.ResultsThe overall response rate after 6 weeks was 77%. Logistic regression analysis showed that only the 50 kroner group had a response rate that was statistically significantly higher than the controls (p < 0.0001). It was also significantly higher than that in any of the other incentive groups (p < 0.0001, p < 0.004 and p < 0.0001 respectively). Female sex (p < 0.001) and age (p < 0.002) increased the response rate significantly.ConclusionIt is possible that the recipients scratched their cards before completing the questionnaire, and that it was a disincentive for the majority that they did not win anything. Lottery scratch tickets are no substitute for cash as an incentive to respond to a questionnaire.

Gambling participation and problems among employees at a university health center.

This study evaluated the frequency and intensity of gambling behaviors among employees at an academic health center. Employees were sent an anonymous questionnaire assessing demographic characteristics, participation in gambling activities, and gambling-related problems. Of the 904 respondents, 96% reported gambling in their lifetimes, with 69% gambling in the past year, 40% in the past two months, and 21% in the past week. The most common forms of gambling were lottery and scratch tickets, slot machines, card playing, sports betting, bingo, and track. Only 1.2% of the sample reported gambling on the internet. Using scores on the South Oaks Gambling Screen, 3.0% of the respondents were classified as Level 2 (or problem) gamblers, and an additional 1.8% were Level 3 (or pathological) gamblers. Compared to Level 1 (non-problem) gamblers, Level 2 and Level 3 gamblers were more likely to be male, single, and employed full-time, and to have lower income and education. About half of the Level 2 and Level 3 gamblers reported interest in an evaluation of their gambling behaviors and treatment interventions. These data suggest the need to screen for gambling problems in health care professionals and to provide gambling-specific treatments.

Lottery playing amongst youth: implications for prevention and social policy.

Factors associated with lottery ticket purchases, accessibility of lottery products, and lottery playing behaviour amongst 1,072 youth (ages 10-18 years old, mean age 14 years-old) was examined. Playing the lottery was found to be the most popular gambling activity with youth reporting playing all forms of lottery tickets including draws, scratch tickets, and sports lottery tickets. Youth reported beginning to play the lottery at age 12, with scratch ticket participation being amongst the most highly reported type of lottery activity with the youngest age of onset. The vast majority of youth are aware of the legal age to purchase tickets although many believed that there should be no age requirement to purchase any form of lottery ticket. Youth, regardless of their age, reported few if any difficulties in purchasing lottery tickets. Moreover, a third of underage youth reported going to the store specifically to purchase lottery tickets with this behaviour increasing with the age of the participant. This research confirms previous findings that lottery tickets are highly accessible to underage youth despite legal prohibitions. The results provide valuable information that can be subsequently used in the development of responsible social policy and youth gambling prevention programs

Parental influences and social modelling of youth lottery participation

AbstractObjectiveThe present study sought to investigate the relationship between perceived parental lottery involvement and the bearing this has upon youth lottery participation.ParticipantsOne thousand seventy(two youth, 10–18 years of age participated from 20 elementary and nine high schools throughout the province of Ontario, Canada.MeasurementsMeasuring Youth Lottery Participation and Playing Behaviour Questionnaire and the DSM(IV(MR(J Revised to screen for youth pathological gambling.FindingsYouth reported playing all forms of lottery tickets with 77% reporting that their parents purchase scratch tickets, lottery draws (50%), and sports tickets (23%) for them. Parental purchases of lottery tickets for their children increased by level of gambling severity. Participants with significant gambling problems perceived higher parental participation in the lottery compared to non(gamblers and social gamblers. The majority of participants reported that their parents were aware of their lottery involvement and were not afraid of getting caught purchasing lottery tickets in spite of legal prohibitions.ConclusionThe results suggest youths' perception of parental involvement with the lottery plays an important role in the initiation and maintenance of lottery participation for youth. Given that youth report receiving lottery tickets from their parents, it is clear that the lottery is perceived as an innocuous form of gambling. Public awareness programmes and education of this issue is critical. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Disordered gambling among university-based medical and dental patients: A focus on Internet gambling.

The authors evaluated gambling behaviors, including Internet gambling, among patients seeking free or reduced-cost dental or health care. Three hundred eighty-nine patients at university health clinics completed a questionnaire that included the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS; H. R. Lesieur & S. Blume, 1987). All respondents had gambled in their lifetimes, with 70% gambling in the past 2 months. On the basis of SOGS scores, 10.6% were problem gamblers, and 15.4% were pathological gamblers. The most common forms of gambling were lottery, slot machines, and scratch tickets. Internet gambling was reported by 8.1% of participants. Compared to non-Internet gamblers, Internet gamblers were more likely to be younger, non-Caucasian, and have higher SOGS scores. This study is among the first to evaluate the prevalence of Internet gambling and suggests that people who gamble on the Internet are likely to have a gambling problem. Results also illuminate the need to screen patients seeking health care services for gambling problems.

"If you do not gamble, check this box": perceptions of gambling behaviors.

Most adults in the U.S. have participated in one or more gambling activities. However, many people engage in gambling activities without considering themselves as gamblers. Four hundred and forty-nine university students returned surveys about their participation in gambling activities. After completing a questionnaire recording the style and frequency of gambling participated in, respondents were asked to indicate whether or not they gambled. Results indicated that gamblers participated in twice as many forms of gambling activities as those who classified themselves as non-gamblers. Scratch tickets and lottery tickets were not generally considered gambling unless purchased frequently. Casino visits, bingo, dog races, football pools, golf matches, local poker games, and other card games were more likely to be viewed as gambling, especially when engaged in frequently. Subjects who had gambled on at least one occasion with bookies, dice games, video poker in a bar, dog or cock fights, or off track betting almost always identified themselves as gamblers. It is recommended that further research be conducted to clarify the gambling activities, and frequency of those activities, that influence a person's perceptions of gambling.

Obsessive-compulsive features in pathological lottery and scratch-ticket gamblers.

The results of this study support the notion that pathological gamblers drawn from the community would score higher on all three scores from the YBOCS than light gamblers. Consistent with hypotheses, pathological gamblers (lottery and scratch ticket) reported more obsessions, compulsions, and avoidance behavior than the light gamblers, and also reported having more urges to engage in injurious behaviors to themselves and others. These findings provide evidence that pathological gambling falls in a spectrum or family of disorders which have obsessive-compulsive disorder at its core. These findings support McElroy, Hudson, Philips, et al.'s (1993) suggestions of similarities between OCD and Impulse Control Disorders, and extend Blaszczynski (1999) findings of overlap between pathological gamblers and OCD in a treatment population. Heavy gamblers also reported significantly more hoarding symptoms and compulsive buying than light gamblers. More research in this area may show further evidence of a spectrum of disorders with obsessive compulsive disorder at its core, and show further links between impulse control disorders (such as pathological gambling) and OCD.

Gambling behavior of students in grades seven and eight in Alberta, Canada.

This article reports results from a survey of gambling activities of seventh and eighth grade students in northeastern Alberta, Canada. Results confirmed that gambling practices are common among young adolescents. During the 12 months preceding the survey, virtually all respondents (98%) had gambled. Playing scratch tickets was the gambling activity most often played by young adolescents, followed by bingo. Boys were more likely than girls to engage in all forms of gambling activities. Sports betting and wagering on games of skill dimension were mostly male domains, whereas games of chance were female pursuits. Survey implications for public health officials are discussed.