The gestation and birth of legislation prohibiting the sale of lottery tickets to Israeli minors: some social policy issues

Abstract

As gambling becomes legalised and readily accessible, more youth are involved in this potentially harmful behaviour. As part of a harm-reduction approach, laws against the sale of lottery tickets to minors have been enacted in many jurisdictions. In October 2007, such a law was passed in Israel, seven years after the bill was first introduced in the Israeli parliament. This paper addresses the reasons why it took so long to pass this legislation. On the basis of archive documents from the Israeli parliament and articles in the press, the primary factors that may answer this question include ignorance of youth gambling as a legitimate phenomenon, opposition by some parts of the establishment and the gambling industry itself, as well as the absence of special interest groups. While this law only begins the movement in developing a responsible social policy for youth, recommendations for responsible social policy are provided.

Keywords:

• youth gambling
• social policy
• legislation

Notes

1. The government's position was presented along with that of the Ministry of Justice, which is the professional body in charge of making recommendations to the Ministerial Committee on Legislative Affairs.

2. Until that time, the law only applied to establishments where alcohol is sold for consumption on the premises.