RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) – The Virginia Lottery and the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling are urging adults to gift responsibly this holiday season, warning that giving lottery tickets to anyone under 18 can normalize gambling and increase the risk of addiction.

The Virginia Lottery and the council have partnered for years to raise awareness about the risks of youth gambling and are encouraging adults to choose age-appropriate gifts this holiday season.

The groups released a public service announcement this week called “Scratchers for Kids?—Scratch That Idea” as part of a seasonal campaign on social media and other outlets.

The PSA’s message is direct: Don’t give children scratch-off tickets or other lottery products as gifts.

“Just as you wouldn’t give a child alcohol at Christmas, don’t give them a lottery ticket,” said Dr. Carolyn Hawley, president of the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling.

Officials said well-meaning adults sometimes slip lottery tickets into stockings or hand them out as small gifts, but this practice is dangerous and inappropriate.

They warned it may raise the likelihood that a child will develop gambling problems later in life.

“We want to discourage participating in gambling for as long as possible. We want to keep it safe, we want to keep it fun and to do so, let’s delay early onset for children,” Hawley said.

Hawley said the younger someone starts gambling — whether with a scratch-off ticket or on sports-betting websites — the greater the chances of developing a problem.

She and other officials noted a recent uptick in younger people seeking help and calling hotlines for gambling-related issues.

“We know they didn’t start gambling between 18 to 24; they started much earlier,” Hawley said.

Officials also noted that giving lottery tickets to minors is illegal.

They said their hope is that parents and guardians will set positive examples and model healthy behavior.

“They’re watching and they’re seeing, even if you’re not aware that that’s happening. So pay attention, recognize and understand the risks that can happen and model good behavior for your children,” Hawley said.

The Virginia Lottery and the council have partnered for years to raise awareness about the risks of youth gambling and are encouraging adults to choose age-appropriate gifts this holiday season.

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CHESTERFIELD, Va. (WWBT) – Snow totals varied significantly across Central Virginia on Tuesday, with some areas receiving upwards of 6 inches while others got about an inch.

Parts of Petersburg received upwards of 6 inches of snow, while northern parts like Caroline County only got about an inch. Within a 50-mile radius of Richmond, there was about a 5-inch difference in the amount of snow people received.

In Chesterfield County, residents were cleaning snow off their cars Tuesday morning. The National Weather Service snowfall report shows some parts of the county received nearly five inches of snow.

Donnie Clinton was among many people on the roads during the snowfall Monday night.

“I had to be out on the roads last night and it was terrible. And I have a four-by-four truck and so it’s easy to manage, but there were still patches of slush and ice. And so when I was braking, it was really hard to feel safe. So I was kind of scared for that. But waking up this morning going onto the turnpike, it was all fine,” Clinton said.

Clinton said he was surprised by the differences in snow amounts between counties in the area. He was also surprised by how quickly school was cancelled.

“Yeah, I’m actually so I work with youth groups like so middle school through high schoolers. And they told me, schools canceled already tomorrow. I grew up in rural Ohio, where it’s kind of like hell or high water. There’s going to be school tomorrow, and you’re going to go, and it’s just going to have to be okay,” Clinton said.

12 On Your Side Meteorologist Andrew Freiden said such a large range of snow totals is typical for the area.

“So, there was a sweet spot south and west of Richmond where you had a combination of the moisture and the cold air, cold dry air. But the dry air, you know, was too strong on northern counties and northern neighborhoods to support any snow,” Freiden said.

Some places got nothing and areas to the south got a lot more.

“So, we had a battle of really cold, dry air. It is frigid over the Northeast right now. And that cold, dry air was what allowed us to turn a pretty small system, less than 1/2 an inch of liquid into a decent sized snow here in central Virginia,” Freiden explained.

He also explained how over the last five years, Central Virginia hasn’t really had the cold air necessary to create snow like what we’ve experienced this past week.

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