Here Are Your Winning Numbers, Now Call 1-800-GAMBLER

By Rachelle Bowden in News on Apr 24, 2006 1:00PM

You know how drug commercials have to list side effects and whenever a liquor company says anything they have to urge you to "drink responsibly"? Well, now it's the lottery's turn to remind you that too much gambling may not be all that great for you.

This summer the IL Lottery will start airing a toll-free number and information about getting help for gambling problems during its daily drawings on WGN. The IL Lottery, as a state agency, is already required to provide this info on tickets and paper ads, but not on TV. On their ads they have the tagline "Have Fun Play Responsibly" (shouldn't there be a comma in there?), and they've also added the 1-800-Gambler number. Now this information will be in the live broadcasts where they pick the winning numbers. They're also thinking about adding it to their TV and radio ads.

Does anyone really think this kind of thing is really effective? It seems like it's all just a bunch of CYA.