The government will look at whether to prevent 16 and 17-year-olds from playing the National Lottery by raising the current age limit to 18.
Culture minister Mims Davies announced a consultation on the issue in the House of Commons on Tuesday.
She told MPs: "The age of 18 is widely recognised as an age one becomes an adult, gaining full citizenship rights and the responsibilities.
"At present, all lotteries can be played from 16 – one of the very few age limits for gambling under-18 products."
Ms Davies described how the consultation would explore three options: retaining the current minimum age of 16; raising the mimumim age to 18 for National Lottery scratchcards and online instant win games; or raising the minimum age to 18 for all National Lottery games.
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"My initial view is based on the evidence reviewed so far, so it is that such a split could be the best approach," Ms Davies added.
"This takes into account the risk of harm associated with playing the National Lottery is at the lowest of any form of gambling.
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"But we do know the risk of harm is slightly higher for instant win games than it is for draw-based games such as Lotto.
"Therefore I am keen to seek further evidence in this area and hear what others think given that the National Lottery matters so much to so many people, including hearing from the operators, distributors and retailers about any potential impacts and benefits of the change."
The consultation will run until 8 October.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said the action is to "ensure that young people are rightly protected from the potential risks of gambling-related harm&quoRead More – Source
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