AIBU to think a birthday scratch card win was harmless fun?

There are some real weirdos on here 😵‍💫

13?! Really?!

Bloody hell. Knew the replies would be quite negative 🤦🏻‍♀️. Mumsnet is such a moral high ground sort of place. I did the grand national as a kid, picking the horses and then putting my pound bet on with my family and it was great fun. It didn’t lead me to a life of gambling 🤣. Sounds a fun thing to have done and bonus, she won. Nice!

I probably wouldn’t do that but that’s only because I’m a stickler for rules. I don’t think I’d judge someone else for doing this though or even say anything about it.

Came here to say the same! How do you jump from a scratch card to rape?! Mind blown 🤯

Haven't RTWT but I recalled reading this article about the research as apparently there is some evidence that being given scratch cards as a child can shape future behaviour: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/aug/29/children-problem-gamblers-more-likely-bought-scratchcards

I get them for my kids as stocking fillers. I do see her point though. I’m against giving teens any kind of alcohol before 18 and when you see little kids with champagne glasses like their mum - it’s cute but worries me we are preparing them for alcohol (my dad was an alcoholic) I suppose it comes from life experience but your 16yr old can’t get addicted if they can’t buy them sooo I think one or two a year is fine. If mine ever won I would just use it as a learning point and explain that doesn’t always happen. I’ve been buying mine 1 or 2 a year for like 5+ years and they have never won so much as a fiver lol also people buy scratch cards to reveal/ gift holidays etc don’t they

DS also won £100 on a scratch card at a similar age, possibly a bit younger. He’s now 16, enjoys one in his Christmas stocking, occasionally wins £5, usually wins nothing. He’s not turned into a gambling addict.

I do it for Christmas Day, if they win, I just cash it on their behalf, I see no harm in it, lucky girl, my son won about £2!!

I don’t see the harm, It’s easy to learn (quite quickly) that they hardly win. On another note, with that kind of luck, I’d be getting her to choose my lottery numbers🤭

Consider whether your friend has experienced issues with gambling addictions within her family.

Some people see coming home and having a beer after work every night as harmless but my dad’s dying of pancreatic cancer so I see regular drinking as a huge issue. We are all different with different views and experiences.

We always got one in a Christmas cracker and in a birthday card growing up, I haven't gambled at all as an adult (no lottery etc). It mainly taught me that you almost never win and if you do you win very little. I can't recall any of us every winning anything more than a pound or two back over the many many years this went on.

With that being said I think the £100 win for a child would give me pause for thought and I probably wouldn't continue with it again - rather I would make it a one off and be explaining that this is very unusual and the whole thing is designed to make money, not give it out - but yes, encourage her to enjoy it but be sensible with the winnings.

The first bet online is often free, it is still gambling.

She wasn't actually gambling. Your DD didn't buy the ticket so didn't risk anything.

A big over reaction! Should we stop school raffles, bingo, tombolas?

When you claim it, don’t take her and don’t mention she scratched it. I’ve seen cases where claims have been denied if it’s deemed to be for someone underage. That would be a lesson to learn about gambling though.

I agree with u. Far to young. Even if it is "a bit of fun"

FGS you all seriously need to loosen your tightly clenched arses!

It’s a bit of fun. So none of you ever played bingo, or bought a raffle ticket, or used a tombola? Put money on a football team card or went to a race night? Put money into the works lottery syndicate? All gambling.

I think it’s fine and fun and no harm done .

I would never do this but I wouldn’t say anything to someone who did. 13yos are VERY impressionable and I wouldn’t want to encourage it.

I think it's unfortunate that the first time your DD has exposure to gambling, it paid off. To be honest I would worry about that setting expectations in her subconscious. 13 year old brains are still forming, etc.

What's done is done but I don't think I would have done that.

I think it's good as a bit of fun. I'd now turn her great fortune to educate her on occasional flutters rather then regular gambling and encourage putting some of it into a bank account or premium bonds to show another way to make money.

If you tell children “gambling is sinful, end of story”, and nothing else, it becomes tempting forbidden fruit. Why is it suddenly fine and dandy when they turn eighteen?

How about instead educating them on why gambling is bad, or is only bad if you spend too much on it? Also go for the angle that it makes the casino rich. Buying an occasional lottery ticket, or even one a week, is harmless enough, with the important idea of setting oneself a limit on what you spend. We used to debate the national lottery at school, aged thirteen. (It was new, then.)

Is “Around the World in Eighty Days” forbidden reading, in case it puts ideas in children’s heads about betting one’s whole fortune on a highly improbable cause?

And yes, other things are “gambling” when you look at them closely. Premium Bonds. Insurance. Any kind of investment, including property: the value can go down as well as up. Voting, yet we encourage eighteen year olds to do it, and debate lowering the voting age.

The church I grew up with often had raffles. Were those who bought tickets committing the sin of gambling? Usually it was a blindfolded child who would actually make the draw. Was this setting them up for a life of gambling?

They are known to be a gambling starting point. I think it's weird to deny this.

It is gambling though.

I was in Halls of Residence at Uni in the 1980s. There were over 200 of us in Halls and we each paid about £20 to a Hall Committee of other students who used the money to pay for parties, newspapers etc. Some of the smart arses on the Committee found out that one of the students there had a gambling problem - he was only 18 at this time and had been gambling since his early teens. His grant was paid to the Uni who basically gave him a weekly allowance from it so he didn't blow the lot in one go. Anyway, the smart arses thought it would be a laugh to make this guy the Hall Committee Treasurer. He withdrew all the money from the bank account, went to the Casino with it, and lost the lot. He also lost his place at uni, and I never saw him again or found out what happened to him.

Although many/most can control their gambling, it can and does wreck lives and it's controlled and age limited for a reason.

Our kids are older teens now but have been having scratch cards in Christmas stockings / advent calendars since they were small. Also everyone in the family chooses a Grand National horse for a £2 ew bet, we all watch together and kids get any winnings. For my 30th I took our kids and various family friends to the races and took them up each race for a £1 bet and they pocketed the winnings.

Loads of family fun has been had from all of these activities.