Gambling Age UK Guide – The Legal Age for Gambling in the UK
Gambling is legal in the UK and subject to strict regulation. Clear cut laws and regulations are in place to protect citizens, with a sharp focus on protecting children. These measures include a minimum legal age for participating in gambling activities. In this guide, we will explore legal gambling age UK laws.
With various studies showing a possible correlation between underage gambling and problem gambling later in life, the legal gambling age in the UK is strictly enforced. In this UK gambling age review, we will explore the minimum gambling age for various types of gambling in the United Kingdom. We will look at the measures taken by authorities to protect young people and prevent underage gambling.
Legal Gambling Age UK Listed by Activity
The Gambling Act 2005 sets out how all gambling is regulated in Great Britain. The legislation covers the UK legal gambling age. In 2014, it was amended to include all gambling companies offering gambling services to customers in Great Britain, regardless of where the company is are based. The legal age for gambling in the UK is 18 for most types of gambling activities, with just a few exceptions. Below, you can see the UK gambling age for different types of gaming and betting:
| 🎲 Casino | 18 |
| ⚽ Sports Betting | 18 |
| ♠️ Poker | 18 |
| 🎫 National Lottery | 18 |
| 🎊 Bingo | 18 |
| 💻 Online Gambling | 18 |
| 🎰 Gaming Machines (Except Category D) | 18 |
| 🧸 Category D Gaming Machines | No Age Limit |
| ✔️ Private Gaming & Betting | No Age Limit |
| 🎡 Prize Gaming at Arcades and Fairs | No Age Limit |
As you can see from the table above, most gambling activities in the UK have a minimum age limit of 18. This applies to all betting shops, bingo halls, casinos, and racetracks. Not only is it illegal for anyone aged under 18 to play casino games or place sports bets, but it is also illegal to permit anyone under that age to enter licensed gambling premises. The legal age of 18 applies to all types of online gambling sites in the UK. This rule is applied even if you would like to play with live dealers in a live casino app as well.
There are a few gambling activities with no age limit attached. Category D gaming machines have no minimum legal age for gambling UK players must observe. These machines are typically found at seaside arcades, such as coin pushers, teddy crane grabs, and selected slot machines with a maximum prize of £5. Likewise, participating in prize gaming at family amusement arcades or travelling fairs comes with no minimum age requirement. The same is true for private betting and gaming.
Recent Changes to UK Gambling Age Laws
The rules of gambling in the United Kingdom are set out in the Gambling Act 2005. Yet, the UK Government has launched a wide-reaching review of the laws regulating the UK’s gambling industry, ensuring it is fit for the current age. The review of the Gambling Act 2005 will assess whether the current UK gambling laws continue to deliver on the original aims of the gambling legislation. Those aims are to protect children and vulnerable people, with gambling carried out fairly and openly and free from crime.
The government has been working with the UK Gambling Commission to deliver these objectives. While the review of the Gambling Act is still underway, various changes have already been made over the last 18 months that aim to provide extra protection for children and young people. These include changes to the minimum legal age to play the UK National Lottery and a tightening of rules to prevent underage gambling online.
UK National Lottery Age Limit
Since its launch in 1994, the legal minimum age to play the UK National Lottery was 16. In December 2020, the UK Government announced its decision to raise the legal National Lottery age limit to 18. The changes were due to come into effect for online lottery ticket sales in April 2021. In comparison, the new age limit for buying National Lottery tickets from a retail outlet would come into effect in October of the same year. However, the changes to the legal age came into effect across the board on 22nd April 2021.
The Government acknowledged that the way the lottery is played had changed significantly since its launch in 1994. As such, they sought to verify whether the existing laws were still appropriate. A key driver for changes to lottery UK gambling age laws was linked with instant win games, such as scratch cards, and their availability online.
The increase in the legal gambling age UK National Lottery laws came following consultation with lottery industry representatives and members of the public. The Government also considered emerging evidence of a possible link between playing National Lottery games aged 16 and 17 and problematic gambling in later years.
Furthermore, international legal gambling age comparisons showed that the UK was one of the few jurisdictions to permit lottery play at 16. Switzerland, Austria, and Estonia are the only other countries in Europe that permit lottery sales to 16-year-olds. Of those, only Estonia and the UK permitted online lottery sales to 16-year-olds.
We’re committed to protecting young people from gambling-related harm, which is why we are raising the minimum age for the National Lottery. Nigel Huddleston, Minister for Sport, Tourism and Heritage
The Government considers 18 to be the minimum age to participate in activities with a risk of harm. This age limit applies to drinking alcohol, smoking, and commercial gambling. After considering the possible risk levels associated with playing the National Lottery at a young age, the National Lottery UK legal age was increased accordingly. The Government has yet to change the age limits for society lotteries, which are available to 16-year-olds. However, the age limits will be considered as part of the Gambling Act review.
UK Legal Gambling Age Online Verification
In February 2019, the Gambling Commission announced new rules would come in place surrounding age and identity verification for online gambling operators. The Licensing Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) changes came into effect on 7th May 2021. Under the new rules, an online gambling operator must verify a customer’s date of birth before they can:
- Deposit money into an account
- Access free-to-play games
- Gamble with their own money or with a free bonus
The changes to the LCCP apply to all types of online gambling sites in the UK. So regardless of whether you want to play at UK online casinos, online sports betting sites, or roulette sites, you will need to verify your age before you can play. Perhaps the most significant change that came about with these rules related to accessing free play games. Although such games do not require real money wagers even at some of the top PayPal live casinos in the UK, the Gambling Commission has ruled that children should have no access to such games.
Gambling Advertising Rules that Protect Young People
The rules relating to the advertisement of gambling products in the UK are set out in the UK Advertising Codes issued by the Committee of Advertising Practice (ASA). Under the rules, gambling adverts must be socially responsible and must not target under 18s. Any advertisements for gambling services must not encourage irresponsible gambling behaviour. Furthermore, adverts for gambling products must not be shown on TV around children’s programmes and programmes that appeal to children.
The ASA introduced new rules in February 2019 that aimed to further protect children from underage gambling. According to the rules, gambling adverts must not appear on websites or computer games popular among children. Furthermore, celebrities that appear to be under 25 must not appear in gambling adverts. Under licensing conditions, gambling operators must advertise their products and services in a socially responsible way and comply with the UK Advertising Codes.
Penalties for Breaking Legal Gambling Age UK Laws
The UK Government and the Gambling Commission take the legal age for gambling UK laws very seriously. Various standards have been put in place to ensure that anyone under the UK legal gambling age is protected. Gambling venues and online sites must have up to date policies designed to prevent underage gambling. They must provide warnings that underage gambling is an offence and carry out reasonable checks to confirm that a customer is old enough to gamble according to legal gambling age UK laws.
With so many policies in place to prevent underage gambling and protect children, there are, of course, serious repercussions for breaking the rules. Operators that allow underage gambling are liable for large fines and up to 51 weeks prison time. Serious breaches could result in the revoking of their gambling licence. Furthermore, anyone that gambles underage commits an offence and could be punished with a fine or imprisonment.
FAQ about the Legal Age of Gambling in the UK
To wrap up our guide, we have created a useful questions and answers section. We collated the questions players ask most about UK gambling age laws. We have provided short yet detailed answers to each question. So, read on to find out the answers to any questions you still have about the legal age to gamble in the United Kingdom.
