Can buying a Lotto ticket lead to problem gambling?

Lotto

Person filling out a Lotto ticket in an Australian outlet.

Ms Otila Osborne is a researcher at Otago University who is looking at recreational gambling in older people.


She told us that sometimes older people do not see Bingo games or buying Lotto tickets as gambling, or a form of gambling that may be problematic.

These forms of 'recreational gambling' are somewhat 'normalised' by the context in which older people (50+ year-olds) engage in them.

Many older Pacific Islanders and Maori play Bingo as part of church fundraising activities, for example, and most people believe that a percentage of their Lotto ticket price goes to funding sports clubs or other community events.

So, when does this form of gambling become problematic or harmful?


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