Do Not Gift This to Your Children for Christmas In Texas – You Could Be Breaking the Law

One of the fun things to find in your stocking at Christmas in Texas is lottery tickets.

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It's fun to grab a coin and start scratching to see if you are a BIG winner!  Everyone else is watching to see if you won more on your tickets than they did on their tickets.

However, if you are making those Texas Lottery tickets magically appear in your children's stockings.  You could be breaking the law.

Are You Breaking the Law if You Gift Lottery Tickets to Children?

Not technically, children under the age of 18 can scratch off tickets, however, they cannot purchase them or trade them in for the prize.

Retailers would be breaking the law if they sold lottery tickets to anyone under 18 or gave the payoff to winning tickets to someone under the age of 18.

Here's where it can affect you!

If they win anything an adult would have to claim the prize, and if it is over $600 the adult would get taxed on the prize.  Getting taxed is never any fun especially if the adult doesn't get to spend the money.

However, when it comes to scratch-off lottery tickets, those are kind of the gateway to gambling, and it is discouraged to give lottery tickets to those under the age of 18.

The Texas Lottery participates each year with the  Gift Responsibly Campaign, annually organized by the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) and the International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behaviors at McGill University.

When it comes to gifts or stocking stuffers for the kids, save the lottery tickets for the adults and find a small cool toy or treat for the kids.