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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has had made of the relationship between 16 year olds purchasing scratch cards and gambling addiction in later life.

When the conclusions of the Government’s Gambling Review were announced in May 2018, the Government said it would consider whether 16 remained an appropriate age limit to play all National Lottery products, including scratchcards, as part of work on the next licence competition. The evidence in this area is currently being reviewed and analysed, including the number of young people who play National Lottery games and whether participation leads to problem gambling behaviours in later life.