Camelot the organiser of the UK’s National Lottery, which also covers the sales of scratchcards in the country, have taken the decision to withdraw from sale, all scratch cards that sell for £10 each. With the decision taken by Camelot due to fears that their availability could fuel gambling addiction.
All designated National Lottery retailers in the UK have now been informed by Camelot to withdraw any £10 scratchcards they have remaining in stock, due to concerns that the sale of them could cause gambling problems with a small minority of players. With Camelot therefore taking this action due to ‘player protection considerations’.
A spokesperson for Camelot commenting on the action they have taken, said: “Our decision to stop selling £10 scratchcards back in the summer was based on player protection considerations.”
“As part of the ongoing work we carry out to ensure all of our players can play in a healthy and enjoyable way, we became aware that, unlike any of our other scratchcards, these particular games over-indexed among problem gamblers.”
“So, in keeping with that commitment, we decided to stop selling these particular scratchcards and instructed our retailers to remove all tickets from sale.”
“We believe this was the right thing to do to help protect the very small minority of players concerned.”
Responsible gambling and social responsibility when it comes to gambling has gained a growing amount of press in the UK over the past 18 months. Back in April earlier this year saw the reduction of the maximum stake playable on fixed odds betting terminal to £2 from the previous £100.
Whilst the regulatory body that oversees gambling in the UK, the Gambling Commission, have meted out fines and penalty packages to licensed operators, where they have identified social gambling responsibility failings.
