The UK National Lottery is facing mounting pressure from GambleAware and other stakeholders to adopt stronger consumer protection measures in line with the wider gambling industry. Despite being the most popular form of gambling in Britain, with around eight million weekly players, the National Lottery continues to fall short of providing clear signposting to treatment and support services for gambling harm. This requirement is already standard for operators in other gambling verticals.
This call for reform follows the release of GambleAware’s 2024 Annual Treatment and Support Survey, conducted by YouGov with nearly 18,000 adults. The survey revealed that 84% of the public recognise the National Lottery as gambling, while 46% reject the notion that its products are harmless. More significantly, 74% of participants believe that support service information should be displayed directly on lottery products, and 69% agree that its advertising should include references to help services.
Despite the public’s clear demand, the National Lottery remains an outlier in the gambling industry. Unlike betting platforms, casinos, and other gaming providers that are mandated to direct customers towards support resources, the Lottery has not implemented these practices either in-store or online.
Lottery-Linked Gambling Harm Is No Longer Ignorable
A long-standing argument has been that the lottery is a low-risk form of gambling, justifying its exemption from many harm-reduction regulations. However, GambleAware’s research estimates that up to 600,000 lottery customers may be experiencing gambling-related harm, a figure that underscores that while the risk may be lower compared to other forms of gambling, it is far from risk-free.
The charity is urging that support signposting be included not only on lottery tickets but also within its expanding suite of digital instant-win games and app-based products, which share design characteristics with traditional high-risk casino games due to their rapid play and reward cycles.
Firsthand testimonies further highlight the issue, and such stories are amplified by concerns raised by Ian Semel, CEO of Breakeven, who noted that 11% of clients in 2024 cited the National Lottery or scratch cards as contributing to their gambling harm. Semel reinforced that effective harm prevention begins with clear, accessible information about where to seek help.
Ensuring Accountability Amid Technological Expansion
The push for reform is not new. A 2022 House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee report recommended that the National Lottery adopt signposting practices similar to other gambling operators, including referencing the National Gambling Helpline. Yet, neither the previous operator, Camelot, nor Allwyn, which took over in February 2024, has implemented this advice.
Andy Boucher, Chair of Trustees at GambleAware, echoed the growing criticism, stating that while the National Lottery is rightly celebrated for supporting charitable causes, it must also prioritise the welfare of the players funding those causes.
Adding further complexity, Allwyn has faced scrutiny for delays in updating its lottery technology. While it is currently rolling out self-checkout terminals in supermarkets and testing automated scratch card dispensers, these innovations risk further normalising gambling if not paired with responsible gambling measures.
