UK. The government will review the current Gambling Act and increase the minimum age to play the lottery in 2021

The UK government has announced that it will analyze changes in the gaming industry over the past 15 years, that is, for as long as the current law has been in force. Accordingly, they will review online participation limits, user protection levels, gaming advertising, age limits, as well as the role and powers of the Gambling Commission.

Along with this announcement, the government made public the increase in the minimum age to play the National Lottery, which will go from 16 to 18 in October 2021. In this regard, online sales for 16 and 17 year olds will stop at April 2021.

As reported by the government in a press release, the findings of this review will be the basis for possible adjustments to the 2005 law, changes that are intended to ensure customer protection is at the heart of the regulations, while giving those that gamble safely. the freedom to do so.

Likewise, it is planned to study the actions that customers can take where they feel operators have breached social responsibility requirements, such as intervening to protect customers showing clear signs of problematic play, and how to ensure that minors do not participate.

Regarding these important announcements, Oliver Dowden, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, highlighted the need for the revision since it is “an analog law in the digital age” and the industry has changed a lot in recent years .

For his part, Nigel Huddleston, Minister for Sport, Tourism and Heritage, explained that raising the minimum age to participate in the National Lottery seeks to protect the youngest and prevent this game from “gateway to problem gambling”.

In addition, the government has highlighted that these actions follow the line of other strict measures that have recently been implemented to protect consumers. Among these measures, the following stand out: cutting the maximum stake on fixed odds betting terminals, bringing in tighter age and identity checks for online gambling, banning gambling using credit cards and expanding national specialist support through the NHS Long Term Plan.

On the other hand, it should be remembered that as we published a few months ago, the Government launched a call for evidence to explore young people’s experiences of loot boxes in video games. This will provide a clearer picture of the size of the loot box market in the UK and fully examine any evidence of harms or links to problem gambling.

Similarly, the Gaming Commission introduced new rules on VIP schemes, and has called for evidence around how to ensure operators identify and intervene where people are at risk of harm, including through carrying out affordability checks.

Finally, the press release says that soon the Commission will establish new rules on safer game design for online slots and withdrawing winnings.

Press release
Government launches review to ensure gambling laws are fit for digital age: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-launches-review-to-ensure-gambling-laws-are-fit-for-digital-age