Like a lot of people who live in lottery states, I like to buy a scratch-off game ticket every now and then. Sometimes my eight-year-old is with me and I let her choose the ticket to buy (she's pretty lucky at picking winners). Once, when I let Ellie choose a ticket, I was berated by the store clerk for teaching her to gamble. Needless to say, I never shopped at that store again, but her tirade did give me pause. Technically, I guess kids do learn about gambling by choosing lottery tickets for their parents. But parents may not be the greatest influence when it comes to whether or not a child is interested in playing the numbers. According to some, those cute lottery mascots that many states use to promote their games is an even greater threat to the children of today.

In Pennsylvania, they have not one, but five, cute lottery mascots. The Quinto lottery mascots are supposed to look like giant cartoon fingers with big, happy faces. But some people are wondering just who the lottery commission is trying to attract with these kid-friendly fingers. "I think it's reasonable to see this as a marketing ploy to draw young people into their sway," said Michael Geer, president of the Pennsylvania Family Institute. "The Lottery seems to be using the same marketing techniques to draw young people that the tobacco industry used."

Of course, lottery officials deny that they are trying to lure children to the dark side and point to the cute mascots used by other companies who sell products for adults: the Geico gecko and Star-Kist's Charlie the Tuna for example.

Vivian Blanc, a counselor who treats compulsive gamblers, doesn't have an issue with the Quinto fingers in particular, but worries about society's acceptance of gambling. She notes that for some, gambling is an addiction that can cause serious emotional and financial devastation. "I don't think the state is after young players," she says. "But I think we're not realizing that we're exposing them to years of addiction without giving them any warning."

What do you think about this? Does your state have cute lottery mascots? Do you think your children would be tempted to gamble because of them?