Because of course, it’s Christmas:

Happy Holidays! Don’t give lottery tickets to your kids!

As the holiday shopping season begins and “Five best stocking stuffers” lists post throughout the internet , experts advise against one such easy gift (at least when it comes to kids): lottery tickets.

Lottery tickets tend to be popular as smaller gifts to complement the main presents. They’re cheap, easy to fold and are sold pretty much everywhere.

Purchasing a lottery ticket under the age of 18 is illegal, though there is no law against giving tickets to minors. The real problem with the gifts is that it can set children down a path of addictive behavior, said Neva Pryor, executive director of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey.

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Silly.

That those stockings are filled with sugar is a much more addiction-enabling move.