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Plans to increase minimum age to play National Lottery
scratchcards and instant win games
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Government confirms move to increase society lotteries’
maximum draw prize from £400,000 to £500,000
The minimum age to play National Lottery scratchcards and online
instant win games could be increased to 18 to protect vulnerable
young people, Minister for Sport and Civil Society announced today.
The current age limit for all National Lottery games is 16, but
the government will now consult on
whether it should be raised to 18 for some or all National
Lottery games and products.
The plans are to ensure that young people are rightly protected
from the potential risks of gambling related harm, although these
remain very low on all National Lottery games.
The Government also announces it will raise the society
lotteries’ annual sales limit to £50 million, increasing the
money they can raise for good causes, and the maximum per draw
prize to £500,000.
The new limits, which have not been increased for a decade, come
after a detailed consultation and
will support society lotteries to grow, removing the need for
lotteries to slow down their fundraising, and allow them to get
rid of the costly bureaucracy designed to stop them breaching the
current limits.
Minister for Sport and Civil Society said:
I am immensely proud of the exceptional role that the National
Lottery has played in Britain over the past 25 years. We want
to protect its special place and these changes strike the right
balance to ensure that both the National Lottery and society
lotteries can thrive.
The National Lottery raises vast sums for good causes, and
society lotteries play a vital role in supporting local
charities and grassroots organisations. These measures will
ensure we create the best landscape so people across our
communities can continue to benefit.
But we also need to make sure that the National Lottery is fair
and safe. That is why we are looking to raise the minimum age
for instant win games so children and young people are
protected. We are open to all feedback on changes to this and
all of the various lottery products.
It is important that society lotteries demonstrate the highest
levels of transparency, and in addition to the above changes, the
Gambling Commission plan to consult on measures to tighten the
licensing framework for society lotteries, looking in particular
at the information provided to players on how the proceeds of a
lottery are used (including publishing breakdowns of where all
money is spent), and the good causes that benefit.
Since the first National Lottery draw in 1994, over £40 billion
has been raised for good causes. Society lotteries - such as
those run by charities, the Health Lottery and People’s Postcode
Lottery - raise around £300 million a year for good causes.
The individual draw limit for large society lotteries was last
raised in 2009. The government’s decision to consult followed the
sector’s calls for limits to be increased as they said the
previous limits acted as a barrier to raising funds for good
causes.
The current licence to run the National Lottery is due to expire
in 2023 and the Gambling Commission is designing a tendering
process for the next licence. The bidding process for the fourth
National Lottery licence competition will formally launch in 2020
and the Government intends to ensure there is a clear position on
the minimum age ahead of this.
Notes to editors
The society lotteries reform consultation ran
from June - September 2018. The aim of the consultation was to
consider options for making changes to the society lotteries
framework to enable both the National Lottery and society
lotteries to thrive, and consequently to increase the returns
that the sector as a whole generates for good causes.
DCMS received over 1,600 responses to the consultation from a
wide range of sectors, including members of the public, society
lotteries, beneficiaries of society lottery funding, local
authorities, the National Lottery sector (Camelot and
distributors), beneficiaries of National Lottery funding, public
bodies, retailers, and other organisations.
The age of 18 is widely recognised as the age at which one
becomes an adult, gaining full citizenship rights and
responsibilities. At present, the default minimum age limit for
all types of lottery games is 16; the lotteries sector is
currently one of several exceptions to the minimum age of 18 for
accessing the majority of commercial gambling products.
The consultation on the
minimum age for playing National Lottery games will last
12 weeks from 16 July 2019 until 08 October 2019.
