Following an unacceptably high incidence of underage gambling at betting shops the Gambling Commission has written to licensed bookmakers in the UK to remind them that they must have effective policies and procedures in place to prevent young people under the age of 18 from gambling or entering a betting shop. This follows a recent mystery shopping exercise undertaken by the Commission throughout England that revealed a disturbing failure rate.

The exercise covered all the major betting operators in Great Britain, accounting for around 80% of betting shops, and the initial results show that in 98 of the 100 shops visited a 17 year old was allowed to place a bet at the counter. The Director of Regulation at the Commission, Nick Tofiluk, has already met with senior executives at the companies involved to discuss these results and the action the operators plan to take to speedily address the situation.

Nick Tofiluk said “It is illegal for young people under the age of 18 to gamble or to enter a betting shop. We are extremely concerned at these results - further mystery shopping exercises will be conducted to ensure that controls are adequate and effective.” However, the government does not seem inclined to raise the legal age for betting on the National Lottery or fruit machines, both forms of gambling activity under a different guise. (E-05.11.09)

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