National Lottery ‘withdraws online £10 Instant Win Games over addiction fears’
NATIONAL Lottery bosses withdrew online £10 Instant Win Games over fears they fed gambling addiction, it’s reported.
The games were axed after a Gambling Commission report last year found a possible link with problem gambling.
The research found “once the evidence had been received and assessed, £10 IIWGs games were removed from the market within four weeks”, The Telegraph reports.
Camelot, which runs National Lottery, has reportedly doubled the amount it makes from online games over the past two years to £750 million.
Figures seen by The Telegraph show the National Lottery’s takings from Instant Win Games grew fivefold in 10 years – and now make up a tenth of all sales.
Although the £10 online games have been removed, there are 42 Instant Win Games costing up to £5 still available to play, it’s reported.
‘NATIONAL CASINO’
MPs and gambling addiction experts have accused lottery bosses of running a “national casino” and urged them to axe the online games.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader, said: “The National Lottery seems to be turning itself into a gambling company of which it is beginning to exhibit the worst elements.
“The National Lottery should immediately withdraw from this – this is not an area in which they were ever meant to be involved.”
He added: “The National Lottery should return to the single purpose it had right at the outsight.”
The National Lottery seems to be turning itself into a gambling company of which it is beginning to exhibit the worst elements
Sir Iain Duncan Smith
Dr Steve Sharman, a research fellow at the National Addiction Centre at King’s College London, said: “To me, that’s mind-boggling that they’re allowed to get away with calling it playing, not what it is, which is gambling.
“The major difference between draws and these instant win games is obviously the outcome resolution speed.
“The more addictive products tend to be the ones where things happen more quickly.
“The lottery is finding a way to sell products that do have the addictive structural characteristics.”
‘MIND-BOGGLING’
Camelot hopes to retain its licence to run the lottery after it expires in 2023.
It denies any of its games are addictive and claims they’re “very distinct” from gambling.
Camelot said they suspended the £10 Instant Win Games, but has “still seen no research that suggests that £10 National Lottery games are a cause of harm.”
It refused to rule out reintroducing the £10 Instant Win Games, instead saying it had “no immediate plans” to do so.
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A spokesman for Camelot said: “The National Lottery is enjoyed by tens of millions of people each year, and because of the design process of our games – in which they are built and tested to be safe – we have the lowest incidence of problem play.
“Protecting players is, and will always be, our highest priority.
“We continue to lead the industry on protecting players, as we have for 26 years, and we remain committed to innovating to make sure our game design, controls and interventions are the best they can be.”