But when Trevor then tried to buy them he was also turned down – because he could hand them straight to Zak and encourage him to gamble. Trevor said: “Initially I thought they were joking but then they said they couldn’t serve me and the woman said I was teaching my son to gamble. I said that I’d taken him down the beer aisle and now I was taking him to a tobacconist to get a lottery ticket, so was I teaching him to drink and smoke? It’s madness. They obviously weren’t for him.”
The furious dad even asked Zac to go and stand in the entrance of the store, in Frome, Somerset, and again asked for tickets, but was once more refused. Eventually he asked for a refund on his shopping, which came to about £50. Trevor said: “When she said, sarcastically, ‘Have a nice day sir, thank you’, I thought I’m not having this and asked for a refund on my shopping. It was the shame and embarrassment, really. It’s absurd.”
The pair then went to other stores across Wiltshire to buy lottery tickets and had no problems being served, despite Zak asking for them. “We went to Sainsbury’s, Asda in Trowbridge and a petrol station. Zak asked for the tickets and we got served each time, ” added Trevor. Trevor complained to Asda but the firm has backed its staff, saying they are following guidelines which ban the sale of tickets to anyone under 16. An Asda spokesman said: “We’re committed to following legislation around National Lottery sales.”
4 comments:
Lottery is addicting? It's the least interesting form of 'gambling'. Just buying 1 ticket is enough to dream of winning. Buying 2 doesn't really double your 0.000000000000001% chance of winning.
The lottery is an exercise in mental happiness. For your dollar (or pound) you're getting a few moments entertainment imagining what you'll do if you win. Which you won't.
Qualifying playing the lottery as "gambling" is like saying drinking four cups of coffee per day makes you a drug addict. While technically correct, it is a prima facie absurdity.
Isn't there an age limit (set by the government), for purchase of lotto tickets? Isn't the teller breaking the law if he/she sells to a minor, (and knowing an adult would give it directly to the minor would also be illegal, yes?)
It's not the morality of the cashier at question here, it is the state that says it is immoral for the young child to play lotto.
Asda being owned by Walmart, I would assume they also operate under the Walmart's company policies (modified as needed for the UK). If a cashier suspects age-restricted items are being purchased for a minor, the cashier is required to refuse the sale. The man first had his son, who is legally too young for lottery tickets, attempt to make the purchase. When this was refused, he (the dad) tried to purchase them instead. What's the big deal here? The cashier felt the situation was suspicious and refused the transaction. So what? I would have done the same thing.
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