'Lotto tickets or scratch cards are not appropriate Christmas gifts for under-18s'

Regulator of the National Lottery, Carole Boate, urged adults to be mindful of their responsibility to protect children, by avoiding gifting them scratch cards this Christmas. File picture: Denis Minihane

People have been urged to not gift scratch cards to children this Christmas as the National Lottery Regulator found three in 10 shops in Ireland agreed to sell scratch cards to under-18s.

The plea comes as the regulator said lotto tickets or scratch cards are inappropriate Christmas gifts. National Lottery regulator, Carole Boate, urged adults to be mindful of their responsibility to protect children.

“While a popular gifting option at this time of year, National Lottery tickets or scratch cards are not appropriate Christmas gifts for under-18s, no matter how well-intentioned the purchaser might be," she said. 

“We know childhood gambling can lead to a range of harms and increases your chances of experiencing gambling problems as an adult."

It comes as the regulator carried out a "mystery shop exercise" that found nearly three in 10 shops in Ireland agreed to sell scratch cards to under-18s. Some 72% of Irish shops visited during a recent exercise refused to sell scratch cards to underage test purchasers — up from 62% in 2018.

The exercise was undertaken earlier this year by Ipsos B&A and saw 15- to 17-year-olds attempting to buy a €1 scratch card. A report on the sale of scratch cards to under-18s revealed that no purchases were completed by the mystery shoppers, and no offences in law were committed by the retailers. 

Some 562 retail outlets — including supermarkets, convenience stores, garage forecourts and post offices — were visited by 15- to 17-year-olds and none of these premises were given prior notice about the mystery shop. 

No 18+ products were sold during the exercise, the report said. If a staff member agreed to the sale of a scratch card, the test purchaser said they did not want the product and did not complete the transaction.

The figures "underscore the need for tougher measures to curb sales to minors in retail outlets," the report found.

Regional variations

The report also found that some parts of the country performed better than others in refusing sales to minors.

Dublin had the lowest rate of refusal at 57%. The rest of Leinster was at 84%, which was the highest nationwide, while Munster, Connaught and Ulster sat at 71% — which the regulator says were consistent with the national picture. 

Additionally, scratch card sales were also more likely to be refused in urban communities than in rural, at 74% and 69% respectively. 

'Zero-tolerance'

Ms Boate said that retailers needed to adopt "a zero-tolerance attitude towards the sale of age-restricted products to children, and this needs to be the attitude of all National Lottery retailers."

She added that it was concerning that "despite progress, nearly three in 10 shops visited were still prepared to sell products to minors which can only legally be sold to people aged 18 and over."

“However, I am encouraged to see progress since our last mystery shop in 2018, with the majority of retail staff proactively requesting ID from our underage test purchasers," Ms Boate said. 

She added that she will be engaging with the National Lottery operator about additional measures to help move them "towards a position where no child in Ireland can buy a National Lottery product”.