Record Lotteries Jackpot – a losing ticket.

Record jackpots are an insidious way of sucking people into gambling who can barely afford it says the Problem Gambling Foundation.

The Big Wednesday lotto jackpot has reached a New Zealand record of $25.7 million and could go as high as $30 million.

David Coom, Communications Director at the Problem Gambling Foundation says it is also a disaster for the wider community by creating a gambling culture.

“It creates a culture of envy and greed at a time when so many people are so vulnerable due to the fear and the reality of an economic recession,” he says.

For next Wednesday’s draw you can buy a losing ticket for the dream of winning $24 million in cash, and an Audi R8, a Porsche Cayenne, a $250,000 cash prize for travel, a powerboat, and a $750,000 cash prize towards a bach.

“Sales can more than double during very large jackpots and we have had clients that have spent hundreds of dollars on tickets because they have been caught up in the hype that Lotto creates around their products,” David Coom says.

“They spend millions of dollars annually on advertising and promotion of gambling which basically says to people ‘if you are desperate, have major financial problems, or want your life totally changed, then this is the way to do it’. But for a significant number of New Zealanders, this selling of an impossible dream is just a ‘cruῥl hoax™, he says.

David Coom believes Government should take a far more responsible attitude around gambling and there should be a review of lotteries which looks at sizes of jackpots, greater transparency of your chances of winning, and a review of selling online.

ENDS

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