Camelot has congratulated National Lottery retailers for the second year running following confirmation that 91% of retailers visited in 2017 correctly asked for ID as proof of age on the first visit – up 2% on last year, and an impressive 5% improvement on 2015’s results.
The hugely positive figures were the result of the company conducting 11,600 mystery shopping visits last year – as part of its long-term commitment to preventing underage and excessive play of The National Lottery.
Camelot works with retailers throughout the year to ensure responsibility in this area. Measures include asking for the right types of ID, talking to customers who appear to be playing too much, and ensuring staff are correctly trained to ensure they do not sell National Lottery products to anyone under the age of 16.
Duncan Malyon, Retail Director at Camelot, said that the success was thanks to National Lottery retailers working in partnership with the team at Camelot: “I’m absolutely delighted that our National Lottery retailer partners improved on their mystery shopping scores for a second year running, up against some fantastic results from 2016.
“Keeping players safe is hugely important to us, and we have lots of processes in place to prevent underage and excessive play. So, these results clearly show that it’s working.
“A massive thanks to all of our retail partners who ensure that people under 16 don’t play and who also watch out for people who might be playing too much. Here’s hoping for an even better score in 2018.”
Camelot’s mystery shopping programme has been in place for over a decade. If a retailer fails a mystery shopping visit on three occasions, their National Lottery terminal is suspended and is likely to be removed.
In addition, if a retailer is worried that one of their customers is playing too much, details of GamCare – the leading provider of information, advice, support and free counselling for the prevention and treatment of problem gambling – can be found on the back of all National Lottery tickets and Scratchcards.
