The upcoming year will introduce a big change for the UK National Lottery as the minimum age will be raised. Currently, individuals who are 16 years of age or older can participate in the National Lottery. Towards the end of 2021, however, the minimum age for individuals who want to engage in the lottery will be increased to 18.
The reported change of the age limits followed the gambling laws review that was put in force by the Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden. While the new age limit will be official by October 2021, the Department for Digital Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) announced that online sales of lottery tickets to individuals of the age of 16 or 17 will stop in April.
National Lottery Age Limit Increases to Prevent Problem Gambling
The new age limit was accepted to make sure that the National Lottery will not be leading to problem gambling patterns among younger individuals, said Nigel Huddleston, Minister of Sport, Tourism, and Heritage.
According to Dowden, as the gambling industry is growing at a fast pace, the review of the gambling laws in the UK strives to ensure a safe gambling environment for those who enjoy making wagers. Other measures that will be considered by the DCMS include deposit and spending limits, better regulation of advertisements, as well as a higher protection level for young adults who may participate in gambling.
The review will also investigate whether operators allow customers to set wagering limits, make use of exclusion periods, or have access to gambling addiction organizations. It will also be examined whether underage individuals are properly protected from any gambling risks.
In addition to raising the age limit for the National Lottery, the UK government is taking other measures to ensure that individuals, especially younger ones, are properly protected. To avoid further gambling risks, some of the newly introduced measures include the ban of using credit cards for gambling transactions, more vigorous age checks, as well as imposing wagering limits on fixed odds betting terminals.
Huddleston stated that the new minimum age limit for participation in the National Lottery is yet another step towards the protection of younger individuals from gambling-related issues. Even though the National Lottery is considered to have a lower risk of prompting gambling addiction, this is still a measure he believes will prevent gambling addictions among young adults.
According to Dowden the review of the gambling laws in the UK is much needed as the 2005 Gambling Act was introduced before the smartphone era. With deeper global internet penetration, online play has become extremely popular, especially among the younger generation. As lottery tickets could easily be purchased online, there were many concerns that even the National Lottery can be a gateway to problem gambling. This is why the government decided to raise the age limit in 2021 from 16 to 18 years. Meanwhile, it is expected that the government may introduce more protective measures in the upcoming year.
- Author
Daniel Williams
