While allowing the use of debit and gift cards to purchase lottery tickets makes sense, the state lottery should put the brakes on any plans to allow the use of credit cards (“Cashless sales a temptation for lottery,’’ Page A1, Dec. 22). To be sure, even the most financially irresponsible person can get credit cards and quickly run up suffocating debt. It is a huge problem, and it typically affects those on the lower rungs of the socioeconomic ladder. Between the exorbitant interest rates, some as high as 29 percent, and late fees, buying a $20 scratch ticket could end up costing exponentially more.

When you buy goods and services with a credit card, at least you have something to show for it, albeit at an inflated price. When you charge a lottery ticket, the odds are you’ll end up with nothing. While credit card sales for lottery products may bring more revenue to the state’s coffers and stave off the loss of market share, they would ultimately hurt the most vulnerable.

Scott D. Peterson, Hingham