SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Mims Davies, UK Minister for Sports & Civil Society (DCMS), has detailed that the National Lottery will have to make adjustments, as the government continues to push for higher standards across all UK gambling disciplines.
Speaking to the Commons ‘House Magazine’, Davies has stated that she seeks to terminate all current forms of under-18s wagering/betting.
The Minister for Sports seeks to install changes to UK gambling laws, which would set the minimum age requirement of +18s for any form of licensed gambling/betting.
The ‘soon to be put forward’ mandate would end the sale of National Lottery ticket draws and scratchcards, which at present can be purchased by UK consumers aged +16s.
Davies states that the government wants to make it clear to the gambling industry, consumers and merchants that ‘gambling starts at the age of 18’, whilst further detailing that her department’s mandate would be reviewed shortly.
Issuing its June 2018 research update, ‘Gambling, children and young people: A case for action’, the Responsible Gambling Strategy Board (RGSB) put forward a series of recommendations for the government to reduce underage gambling and enhance risk preventions.
In its report, the RGSB recommended that the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) undertake a ‘comprehensive review of allowing UK 16-year olds to purchase National Lottery products’.
Supporting UK health stakeholders, the RGSB stated that under-age gambling would be further reduced if the government pushed to create a ‘wider pool of guardians on underage problem gambling’ – including the support of app stores, search engines, retail merchants and schools.
