Gambling-related harm APPG demands National Lottery age limit increase

The Gambling Related Harm All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) has slammed the UK government for inaction after failing to raise the National Lottery age limit to 18 from 16.

The criticism comes after The Sunday Times and Daily Mail alleged children as young as 16 were spending more than £350 a week on National Lottery games across titles including Bingo Millionaire, Fruity £500 and Treasure Temple.

The newspapers cited several examples of individuals gambling on these games at a young age before experiencing gambling-related harm in later life. Gambling on online National Lottery games is legal from age 16, while other online gambling operators can only accept players aged 18 or over.

The report also questioned whether the lottery was using motifs and imagery which appeal to children, an activity which is heavily prohibited by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

In July 2019, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) launched a consultation on raising the age for National Lottery and scratchcard gaming to 18, but no further action was taken following the collapse of Theresa May’s premiership as prime minister.

In its own inquiry into online gambling-related harm, the APPG reiterated prior calls for a rise in the National Lottery age to 18 in order to protect young people.

Lottery play by individuals aged between 16 and 18 was again highlighted in the House of Lords Select Committee report on the Social and Economic Impact of the Gambling Industry, in which the committee called for an increase in the minimum age to 18.

In an open letter questioning the government’s inaction on this issue, the APPG said given the risks to young people, raising the age from 16 to 18 should be “taken forward as a matter of urgency”.

This disgrace must end. This is no more than the exploitation of children to feed the obscene salaries of gambling industry executives.https://t.co/9bJDXzW6Mq pic.twitter.com/4ExTuZwtXB

— Ronnie Cowan (@ronniecowan) July 19, 2020

“In the past month, there have been three prominent reports from parliamentarians from both houses and all political parties calling for urgent action on gambling reform and yet the government has said and done nothing,” the letter states.

“At the same time, every day we hear stories of the harm being caused and the closeness of this government to the gambling industry.

“Enough is enough. As the House of Lords has said, it is indeed time for action,” the letter concludes.

Camelot, which has operated the UK National Lottery since its inception in 1994, has said it would be happy to increase the minimum age to 18, but ultimately it remains a matter for government to decide.

In an interview with EGR, Camelot’s commercial director Neil Brocklehurst said: “We’re only too happy to work with them in implementing whatever they see is best.”

Discussing the impact of increasing the age to 18, Brocklehurst explained: “In terms of revenue impact, it’s small, the numbers of lottery customers who are between 16-17 are relatively low, we think somewhere between 140,000 to 200,000 players potentially at any stage – which is a very small percentage of that age group – so a pretty low number in terms of the overall playing population for the UK National Lottery.

“It’s also widely recognised that the inherent risk of problem play associated with National Lottery products is very low – this is backed up by Gambling Commission and GamCare data.

“However, we have a wide range of carefully-developed, practical tools to enable our online players to manage their play. It is important to note that, on average, around 500 people aged 16 and 17 play National Lottery online Instant Win Games in a given quarter, out of over seven million active registered online players.

“So, it wouldn’t be a huge impact on us if the legislation was changed to raise the age to 18,” Brocklehurst added.