Charity shops selling lottery tickets and encouraging gambling!

[Sam9769]

I was in a charity shop recently and when I made a purchase, the lady behind the counter asked me if I would buy a lottery ticket for £1.
I didn't want one but bought a ticket as I didn't like to say no.
I was given a ticket which instructed me to go online the following Friday to see if I had won anything. I was shocked to see that the website then tries to sell you lottery tickets to win prizes. There's a box to fill-in for how many tickets you want and you can also helpfully tick a box if you want to pay by direct debit, presumably on the basis that you will purchase tickets on a regular basis.
I was really shocked and saddened by this.
Charity shops are encouraging people to gamble their money away!
This is made even more outrageous when you think that their target audience may be in the lower income bracket.
AIBU - It's just a bit of fun to raise extra money.
AINBU - It's encouraging gambling.

Lots of charities run lotteries.

If it bothers you so much say no next time. 🤷‍♀️

I don't see the problem. It's an entry in a prize draw and an easy way to raise funds. Don't sign up for any more draws, and don't forget it's just as polite to say 'no thanks'as it is to say 'yes please'.

What makes you think they're targeting poor people, by the way?

I think YANBU to question whether this fundraising approach is ethical.

In your case, be prepared with your response in future - you need to work on not wanting to say no!

You've really got to learn to say no

Well it's not like the national lottery or other forms of gambling are hidden away is it? I don't see the issue with it being linked to a charity/charity shop, at least it's presumably making some money for the charity, and people in the lower income bracket are able to access the places that sell lottery tickets, scratch cards etc - I think even Aldi do lottery tickets?(Not sure, don't play it)

There are two issues here.

”Gambling” - charity raffles have existed for ages. Should children be told that they must never buy raffle tickets, because it’s “gambling”? But it is a problem when you then have to do complicated rubbish online.

Upselling: it’s annoying that we are constantly being “upsold” stuff we don’t want. As others have said, we have to learn the power of that very useful two-letter word, “no”. I’m often thinking “no” before I’ve even heard what someone is trying to sell me.

Literally all the various lotteries are for charities, even the very first raffle ticket I bought from the school fete when I was 6 was probably for charity - they wash their faces in the same sink.

People enjoy gambling. Many, many people do it as a leisure activity and it causes them no problems in their day to day life. Those who do have issues will access gambling online, in the supermarket, in arcades… I doubt this bit of fundraising is going to change anybody’s circumstances.

What makes you think they're targeting poor people, by the way?

This will be the widely held (on Mumsnet) belief that charity shops exist not only to raise money for the charity but also to provide poor people with cheap things.

Pearl clutching niff naff and trivia.

What is it with Mumsnet posters putting the boot in to charities? This is the second one in two days. I hope the people determined to bring them down never need help from a charity.

It's embarrassing, grow up!

You have free will , the same as every time you go into a supermarket of newsagents !
Gambling ( raffles, tombolas etc) are a traditional way of raising funds for charities & schools . It’s been happening for years

I couldn't get worked up about this.

Gambling is everywhere, as an easy way to make money.

I can't even open the WhatsApp groups connected to my kids sports teams without being encouraged to buy a square on a card to win a sum of money, where the rest of the money raised goes towards new equipment for the teams.

At the end of the day, offering people the chance to get something back is an effective way to raise funds. Are you also against tombolas and raffles at school fêtes?

If you don't like it and don't want to partake, practice saying no thanks.

Gambling and charity have always been linked. The most common fundraisers are raffles and tombolas.

I am a regular charity shop user and I say 'no thanks' to lottery tickets - and similar to 'rounding up' my purchase if it's not in fact rounding it up which happens (rounding up £5 to £5.50 is not rounding!). I have never had a negative reaction and I am a huge over-thinker prone to anaylsing people's reactions in detail. Just say no.

I agree the links to online gambling are a a bad thing. Online gambling full stop is a bad thing.

I take it OP doesn't do the lottery or wouldn't scratch a gifted scratch card?

It's a charity raffle and they have been going for decades. What's the problem? I have been buying RNLI tickets for years. Won nothing but it hasn't led me to "gamble" on anything else.
Also, you need to learn to say "no".

Its an optional charity raffle...not like they're offering a night on the slots

A bit insulting to lower income people IMO.

So do supermarkets. Get over it.

Your inability to say no is not the charities fault

You sound exhausting. If you don’t want to do something then don’t. It’s very simple.