‘Not 18 Yet? No Bet’ campaign in NJ focuses on problem gambling

The New Jersey Lottery and The Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey is reminding residents and businesses that it's illegal to sell lottery tickets to anyone under the age of 18.

New Jersey Lottery Executive Director Jim Carey said the campaign is launched every year right before the school year begins.

In New Jersey, the law prohibits anyone under age 18 from buying or selling lottery tickets. Residents in the state may be unaware that there is an age restriction on playing the lottery so that's why the the campaign is run every year, he added.

With the "Not 18 Yet? No Bet" campaign, Carey said the Lottery does a lot of advertising about it. Email blasts and terminal messages are sent out to all of their retailers reminding them that players of the New Jersey Lottery must be at least 18 to purchase or sell lottery tickets.

Emails are also sent to VIP club members reminding them of the law. On the New Jersey Lottery website, people will also see the "Not 18 Yet? No Bet" logo.

A lot is also done to make players aware that help is out there if anyone has a gambling problem or knows someone who may have one. Carey said the telephone number 1-800-GAMBLER (which is the phone number for The Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey) is located on all its advertising and lottery tickets.

While Carey said he did not see a big uptick in underage gambling during the pandemic, there are more options available for them. The lottery is sold primarily at their retail network but there is also online sports and casino betting. Carey said it's a problem that people have to be aware of and parents should watch for problems with children, especially teenagers, to make sure they are not gambling.

Playing the lottery, betting on sports and going to a casino are great ways to have fun, said Carey. But he warns that people need to do it responsibly, within their budget and they should take care of all other necessities first.

The NJ Lottery is the third state lottery in the country to be awarded Level 4 of the World Lottery Association's Responsible Gambling Framework Certification to make sure that problem gamblers are not being taken advantage of and that lotteries are doing everything they can to promote gambling in a responsible way.

"We are very proud of that," said Carey.