By Lottery age limit set to change from next Autumn in gambling crackdown
The age limit for playing the National Lottery is set to be raised from 16 to 18 from next October as the government moves to crack down on gambling.
The government has pledged a “major and wide-ranging review” of the sector, which may include limits on online stakes and restrictions on advertising.
The gambling review follows a range of measures introduced by the government to protect consumers from the risk of gambling-related harm.
Betting firms could also be banned from sponsoring football shirts.
The government said the current legalisation, established in 2005, was:
“An analogue law in a digital age”.
Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, said:
“Whilst millions gamble responsibly, the Gambling Act is an analogue law in a digital age… the industry has evolved at breakneck speed”.
The age threshold for playing the National Lottery is set to rise from October 2021.
Before that, online sales to 16 and 17-year-olds will stop in April 2021.
Nigel Huddleston, Sport Minister, said:
“We’re committed to protecting young people from gambling-related harm, which is why we are raising the minimum age for the National Lottery”.
“Patterns of play have changed since its inception, with a shift towards online games, and this change will help make sure the National Lottery, although already low-risk, is not a gateway to problem gambling”.
The Gambling Health Alliance has called for the review to focus on the damage gambling can do to public health.
The group’s chair, Duncan Stephenson, said for the past 15 years, the public had been at the hands of a gambling industry which has taken advantage of “sluggish and inadequate” regulations.
This review follows the government’s previously reported action to explore young people’s experiences of loot boxes in video games.
