THE NATIONAL LOTTERY Regulator is urging all adults to avoid gifting National Lottery products to children this Christmas, as a report has found shops are still failing to deny the sale of a scratchcard to underaged mystery shoppers.

“No matter how well-intentioned the purchaser might be”, the lottery regulator warned that it increases a young person’s “chances of experiencing gambling problems” as an adult.

It found that almost 30 percent of shops in Ireland failed to deny the sale of a scratchcard to underaged mystery shoppers.

Almost three quarters (72%) of Irish shops visited during a recent ‘mystery shop’ exercise refused to sell scratchcards to underage test purchasers. The regulator said this is up from 62% in 2018.

The figures come from a new report published today, commissioned by the Regulator of the National Lottery, to check the effectiveness of the National Lottery Operator’s efforts to ensure its retailers do not sell National Lottery products to under-18s.

The regulator said that no purchases were completed by the mystery shoppers during the recent experiment, with no offences in law committed by the retailers as a result.

However, it says that it underscore the need for tougher measures to curb sales to minors in retail outlets.

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

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

“It’s therefore vital that all adults are mindful of their responsibility to protect children by avoiding gifting them scratchcards this Christmas.”

How the study was carried out

The test purchasers were aged 15-17, evenly split across the age bracket, with 51% male and 49% female participants. When asked for their age or to provide identification, all test purchasers answered truthfully.

If a staff member agreed to the sale of a scratchcard, the test purchaser said they did not want the product and did not complete the transaction.

The retailers visited were representative of the national breakdown of scratchcard sales by outlet type, including supermarkets, garage forecourts, post offices and convenience stores.

The mystery shop was carried out on a nationwide basis across Dublin and each province.

In a statement, Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI) – the operator of the National Lottery – agreed that there is “still more work to do” in improving the results of the mystery shop survey.

“PLI fully agrees with the Regulator that National Lottery tickets or scratchcards should not be gifted to under-18s at Christmas or at any time of year,” a spokesperson said.