The National Lottery has published the results of a research study it commissioned from Ipsos MORI Social Research Institute. The 2011 Young People Omnibus Survey of secondary school pupils was specifically aimed at discovering gambling behaviour of those aged 11-15, legally too young to buy National Lottery tickets. The report also looked into trends in gambling behaviour, based on findings from previous National Lottery Commission studies since 2005.
In the age range 11-15, 23% of those surveyed said they had spent money on some form of gambling in the previous week – 10% playing the National Lottery. This rose to 22% for those aged 16, the legal age to purchase a National Lottery Ticket. A perhaps more worrying trend is that around 15% of those aged 11 to 15 had played free or practice gambling games on sites such as Facebook.
According to the survey it appears that there is some parental involvement in the children’s gambling activities, including being present when the children purchase a ticket or having their children check their lottery ticket numbers online at the National Lottery website.
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The report suggests the survey results reinforce the importance of collective regulatory action to tackle underage gambling. The findings also suggest that monitoring children's access to free games, and ensuring they do not encourage gambling for money among under 16s, will continue to be important.
The full Ipsos MORI report can be found at http://www.natlotcomm.gov.uk/assets-uploaded/documents/ipsos-mori-report-on-behalf-of-the-commission_1316537803.pdf (E-09.26.11)
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