WHAT’S THE RIGHT age to grant the rights and responsibilities generally associated with adulthood? 

Based on current policy debates, it all depends. Are you looking to roll the dice or rob a store? 

There has been a big movement in recent years to recognize the ways in which brain development is still taking place among “emerging adults” aged 18 to 26. A wave of brain science research points to this population being more prone to the impulsive acts and poor decision-making associated with late adolescence than the more reasoned judgment of older adults. 

That is the thrust of arguments to raise the age for dealing with criminal charges in the juvenile justice system, with its focus on rehabilitation, rather than in adult court. A decade ago, Massachusetts raised the age from 17 to 18 for cases to be heard in Juvenile Court, and there are proposals to further raise the age of Juvenile Court jurisdiction to include 19- and 20-year-olds. 

Meanwhile, in January, the Supreme Judicial Court issued a landmark ruling, citing accumulating brain science research, declaring it unconstitutional to hand down a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for those who were less than 21 years old at the time of a crime. 

“Advancements in scientific research have confirmed what many know well through experience: the brains of emerging adults are not fully mature. Specifically, the scientific record strongly supports the contention that emerging adults have the same core neurological characteristics as juveniles have,” Chief Justice Kimberly Budd wrote in her decision. 

The scientific evidence presented in the case, CommonWealth Beacon reported, concluded that “emerging adults, like juveniles, have a lack of impulse control, are more prone to risk taking, and are more susceptible to peer pressure than those over 21.” 

That is exactly what worries state Sen. John Keenan as the state considers calls from Gov. Maura Healey and state Treasurer Deborah Goldberg to begin selling lottery tickets online. 

“With gambling, I think it’s the same thing,” Keenan said of the arguments for changes to criminal justice statutes for emerging adults. “The mind is still developing and they are particularly prone to the excitement that comes with gambling that’s now happening on phones, the instant endorphin rushes they get if they hit on something.” 

Healey’s 2025 budget proposal includes a provision authorizing online lottery sales. Goldberg testified earlier this month at a budget hearing that online lottery could bring in more than $230 million annually in new state revenue within five years. “These are dollars that you can put to work in your communities,” Goldberg told lawmakers, referring to the use of lottery revenue for local aid. 

But Keenan, a Quincy Democrat, worries that a good chunk of the money the state could bring in will come at the expense of young people in the throes of gambling addiction. Unlike sports betting or gambling in a casino, where the minimum age is 21, 18-year-olds can buy lottery tickets at retail outlets, and Healey’s proposal would extend that to online lottery play. 

Keenan said he’s wary of the whole expansion of gambling, but thinks at a minimum that any move to an online lottery should be limited to those 21 and older. 

“It’s pretty clear that young people, and particularly young males, are targeted when it comes to online sports betting, and the reason why is they’re prone to getting involved in this,” he said. Now, Keenan said, with an even lower age limit, the state is looking to “move to an online lottery, and they’re going to target this group as well.” 

At the recent budget hearing, Goldberg pushed back at what she called the “presumption” that online lottery would be targeted at younger players. She said the goal is just to make lottery purchases more convenient for everyone, and said 80-year-olds now use their cellphones to order holiday gifts. 

But the lottery director, Mark Bracken, offered a very different take – one that seemed to echo the brain science research on emerging adults being invoked in criminal justice reform – when he testified before the Legislature last spring in support of online lottery sales. 

“We’re trying to attract a new and emerging generation,” he told lawmakers. “And there’s a sense of urgency and a sense of immediate gratification that this emerging generation has.”