UK Looking to Raise Age Limit for National Lottery Products

The age limit of playing lotteries and scratch-offs in the UK could be increased to 18+ years after growing concerns that youngsters are being introduced to gambling too early. Right now, the minimum age requirement for playing all National Lottery games in the UK is 16, but government officials want to change that in a bid to protect vulnerable young people from the harms of gambling. 

While gambling is prohibited for anyone below 18 years, anyone over the age of 16 years is allowed to participate in National Lottery games. And according to figures released last October, over 55,000 kids aged between 11 to 16 years are addicted to gambling. Recent data also indicates that 16-year-olds in Britain are spending up to £350 a week on online lottery games.

Mims Davies, the UK Minister for Sport and Civil Society announced that the government will start looking into whether this age limit should be increased from 16 to 18 years, for some or all games and products from the National Lottery. Should the law be implemented, 16 and 17-year-olds will no longer be allowed to buy tickets for the likes of Thunderball, Lotto, and scratch-off instant win games from petrol stations, newsagents, convenience stores, and supermarkets.

Another Radical Anti-Gambling Initiative 

Of late, the gambling industry in the UK has been facing a lot of backlash from different anti-gambling groups. In the past few weeks, the question of the safety of loot boxes in children’s games popped up again, and not long after, the UKGC came under fire for not being strict enough with the regulation of gambling in Britain. And now, the UK government is pondering over a bill to increase the age-limit of National Lottery games and products. 

Even though anti-gambling groups are continuously putting pressure on the industry, a lot of studies have proven that the majority of gamblers in the UK participate in the activity responsibly. Only about 3-4% of British gamblers are problem gamblers, but the government continues to put more pressure pump more money and resources into dealing with problem gambling. 

What is even more puzzling about these looming changes is the fact that nothing has been said about the legal age of drinking in the UK which is 16 years old – as long as the teenager is accompanied by an adult. More to the point, according to Alcohol Change UK, an organization for alcohol awareness in the country, misuse of alcohol is the counts as the largest risk factor for disability, ill-health and even death among people between the age of 15 and 49 years old!

Is the UK Gambling Market in Any Immediate Danger?

For some time, aspects including politics and regulatory changes have been sending shockwaves through the UK gambling scene. Some of these factors have scared away a handful of operators but all is still not lost. However, some analysts argue that if such stringent regulations continue, the industry could end up suffocating operators and service providers as the law and politics continue to tighten the screws for the market.

Meanwhile, as the plans to increase the age-limit for National Lottery products continue taking shape, the British government announced that the annual sales limit of the society lotteries will be raised to £50 million, and the biggest prize per draw will be increased to £500,000. That way, more money will be collected for funding charitable initiatives across the country.