Many Iowans purchase lottery games to give away as presents over the holidays. Iowa Lottery spokesperson Mary Neubauer says she’s yet to hear from any of those gift givers who raised a dispute over a big prize. “We hear every year from people who say they got the ticket as a stocking stuffer or they got the ticket maybe in a holiday gift exchange and it ended up being a big winner and so far it doesn’t seem like the folks who gave the tickets didn’t have any hard feelings,” Neubauer says. “They were happy for the folks that they gave the tickets to.”

Some of the big winners this year might be young kids. “Here in Iowa the law says that you have to be 21 — at least 21 years old — to purchase lottery products, but you can be younger than 21 to play lottery products and if you were to win a prize in that case there’s a process where a parent or a guardian has to sign the claim form with you when you claim the prize,” Neubauer says, “so there certainly is a process in place for that.”

Neubauer notes that lottery games may not be an appropriate gift for anyone. “Certainly that applies to lottery tickets, but it could apply to a lot of things, you know, maybe the movie that you give somebody…or the video game that you give someone,” Neubauer says. “…Is it a violent game? Are you giving it to a small child? So we just want people to remember that, that certainly you are welcome to give whatever gift you would like, but some gifts may not be appropriate for certain people.”

(Radio Iowa)