ILLINOIS LOTTERY LAUNCHES PLAYER EDUCATION CAMPAIGN

Lottery seeks to encourage smart and responsible play

CHICAGO, IL – The Illinois Lottery today announced a new responsible gaming campaign to help players make informed decisions about their lottery play. The March launch of the campaign coincides with National Problem Gambling Awareness Month.

The campaign is comprised of social media posts, in-store messaging and paid advertising that drive players to new online content housed on the Lottery’s website, which features information about how games work, common myths about playing the lottery and practical tips for how to be smart when playing.

The campaign was developed in response to recent independent research commissioned by the Lottery that indicated most Illinois players scored high on the “Positive Play Scale,” demonstrating that they engage in responsible behaviors and have a good understanding of how to play responsibly.

The Positive Play Scale, developed by Canadian research firm Gamres, is designed to measure the four key components of positive gambling-related behaviors and beliefs: honesty and control, how honest a player is with others about their gambling and how much they feel in control of their behavior; pre-commitment, the extent to which a player considers how much money and time they should spend gambling; personal responsibility, the extent to which a player believes they should take ownership of their own behavior; and gambling literacy, the extent to which a player has an accurate understanding of the nature of gambling. Based on a survey conducted last summer, Illinois Lottery players scored lowest in gambling literacy, prompting the Lottery to develop the new player education campaign.

“Our goal is to integrate smart play into every aspect of what we do, from retailer training and game design to consumer research and player education,” Illinois Lottery Acting Director Harold Mays said. “While the Gamres research indicates that our players seem to be playing responsibly, the new campaign will help ensure our players have the information they need to make informed decisions about playing the Lottery.”

The Illinois Lottery is one of five U.S. lotteries certified to Level 3 by the World Lottery Association, the second-highest level of responsible gaming certification. Working with Camelot Illinois, the Illinois Lottery’s private manager, the Lottery aims to obtain Level 4 certification.

“Sixty percent of Illinois residents play the Lottery at least once every year,” said Camelot Illinois General Manager Colin Hadden.  “We want to educate all of our players about responsible play so that playing the Lottery stays fun - that’s what this campaign is all about.”

To learn more about the campaign, please visit illinoislottery.com.

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About the Illinois Lottery:

Founded in 1974, the Illinois Lottery has contributed over $20 billion (since 1985) to the state’s Common School Fund to assist K-12 public schools, as well as hundreds of millions of dollars to the Capital Projects Fund and to special causes like Illinois Veterans services, the fight against breast cancer, MS research, Special Olympics and assistance for people living with HIV/AIDS. In addition to playing in-store, the Illinois Lottery offers online and mobile play for all draw-based Illinois Lottery games at illinoislottery.com. Players must be at least 18 years old.

About Camelot Illinois

Camelot Illinois is the new private manager of the Illinois Lottery. In partnership with the state, Camelot operates a modern lottery that truly benefits the people of Illinois. Camelot is dedicated to working with transparency, integrity and responsibility to grow the lottery and reinforce its rightful position as a force for good. The company’s innovative approach places consumers and social responsibility at its core, providing funding for schools, capital projects and special causes.