Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what information he holds on the number and proportion of (a) children who gamble by buying scratchcards and (b) problem gamblers among 16 to 18 year olds who buy scratchcards.

The legal age for playing National Lottery scratchcards is 16. The Gambling Commission’s Young People & Gambling 2018 report surveyed 2,865 children aged 11-16 years old in schools in England, Scotland and Wales. It reported that 2% of those aged 11-15 years old (45 individuals) had spent money on scratchcards in the past 7 days. Of the 11-15 year olds who have bought National Lottery products (National Lottery tickets or scratchcards) in the past, 62% said a parent or guardian handed over the money at the till.

Data from the Health Survey for England and Scotland 2015 and Problem Gambling Survey Wales 2015 indicates that none of the 16-17 year olds surveyed who played scratchcards were classified as problem gamblers. This is from a sample of 246 16-17 year olds, of whom 53 who had bought scratchcards in the last 12 months. The Gambling Commission also carries out regular telephone surveys, which again found that there were there were no problem gamblers amongst 16-17 and 16-18 year old scratchcard players surveyed. However, in both age groups sample sizes were small, and findings should be treated with caution.