By Emily Usher
@polishedavocado

The legal age to play The National Lottery changes tomorrow, rising from over 16 to over 18 for online and in-person related sales. This is due to the review of the by the Government to tackle young gambling addictions.

If you are aged 16 or over but under the age of 18 on 22nd April 2021, and have an existing National Lottery account, you will be unable to play any National Lottery games and will not be able to add funds to your account. However, you will be able to access your National Lottery account until 30th November 2021 in order to check results, review transactions, claim prizes, update details and withdraw funds.

Ryan Zimmer, store manager of a local supermarket says: “The legal age increase from 16-18 will likely have a negative sales impact in our store. This will be driven by our increased focus on using our challenge 25 policy in store which will deter some of our younger customers. As a business we have estimated that we could see a 2% decrease on these sales initially but expect that to grow again when customers get used to the law.”

Figures show that over 200,000 16 to 17-year-olds regularly play the Lotto and purchase scratch cards after a report by the House of Lords. The report also revealed that children with gambling problems often started playing the Lottery.

A spokesman from Camelot Group said: “Encouraging healthy play is at the heart of everything we do. Remember, you can set limits for the amount you deposit and spend each week, moderate your Instant Win Games play limit or even take a break from playing.”