With Thanksgiving over, the holiday shopping season has the full attention of many Americans. But in Minnesota and elsewhere, people are being asked to be responsible when buying lottery tickets as gifts. The Minnesota Lottery and the Minnesota Alliance on Problem Gambling are again taking part in an annual campaign to discourage giving scratch-off tickets and related games to kids under 18. The Alliance’s Susan Sheridan Tucker says while giving one or two tickets as a stocking stuffer might seem harmless, a child can misconstrue how often someone can win.

She says most young people aren’t familiar with the actual odds of winning. Tucker adds there’s growing concern about gambling trends among teens. The most recent Minnesota Student Survey found roughly 10-thousand students reported having gambling-related problems. The broader campaign is led by the National Council on Problem Gambling.