News
PRESS RELEASE - Underage Internet Gambling Study
27 July 2004
CHILDREN AS YOUNG AS 11 CAN SET UP GAMBLING ACCOUNTS AT THE CLICK OF A BUTTON
Children as young as 11 can set up gambling accounts on a huge number of websites, new research reveals.
A report out today (July 27) by leading children’s charity NCH, GamCare and Citizencard, reveals that only seven out of 37 gambling sites tested stopped a 16-year-old registering her details online. The youngster from London was able to lie successfully about her age and register her details on websites under test conditions using her Solo card.
Many sites would also allow her to gamble in several ways, including interactive television, mobile telephones and telephone betting, using the same account set up online.
This is despite the existence of age verification systems specially designed to block accounts for under-18s at the point of registration.
Minister for Gambling Andrew McIntosh says: "These are very worrying findings. Having already warned the industry that Solo cards should be treated with caution it is disappointing to find so many haven't taken this on board. I will raise this with them again, and I'm confident that they will respond positively this time. The banking sector should take some responsibility too"
"We will continue to prompt them to do everything possible to help the gambling industry properly identify whether their customers are 18 or not. But above all this shows that in the face of rapidly changing technology our gambling laws are unable to keep pace."
Now NCH, GamCare and Citizencard are calling for:
> All online gambling sites in the UK to install effective age verification systems as a matter of urgency to block youngsters registering online.
> The government to push forward measures set out in the Gambling Bill as soon as possible to protect children from gambling.
> Banks and credit card companies to play a greater role in preventing underage gambling.
A significant number of banks supply debit cards to under 18s - and some provide Visa Electron and Solo cards to 11 year olds.
John Carr, NCH’s Internet Advisor, says: “It is shocking that children as young as 11 are able to register with online gambling sites. There are no excuses for this. The technology for these companies to clean up their act already exists. But it is being used by a very small number of the operators we surveyed. We urge everybody to install age verification software as a matter of urgency.”
At the moment age verification systems are available to the industry to confirm whether a person is over the age of 18. All companies tested were written to and asked to review the way they block underage access two months before the 16 year old went online.
Gamcare Remote Gambling Specialist Michael Smeaton says: “Unfortunately the results were very disappointing. While GamCare has been encouraged by the progress made by several companies, overall there appears to be a lack of adequate measures in place to tackle underage gambling on the net.”
Citizencard chief executive Andrew Chevis says: “The vast majority of the 37 websites we tested are directly connected to the UK market - or are regulated in the UK. We want to encourage these sites to use the solutions that already exist.”
Citizencard, GamCare and NCH are also concerned that many online gambling sites inviting people to “play for free” - with no age restrictions - encourage youngsters to gamble from an early age.
A full copy of the press release including the sites tested in this study and editors notes are available below
Press Release Word Document
Press Release PDF Document
For a copy of GamCare's response to the study click here
For a copy of the full study report click here
Have you experienced underage gambling on the Internet of have a concern about it. Please get in touch below and share your story
"Is it not already a part of the law, that to gamble you have to be 18 and prove it? Why would online gambling be any different? If the law as it stands doesn't act enough to ensure proof of age for any gambling, then it should be made a specific point of law that any online gambling should use a government sanctioned age verification system."
Tom, 32, London