The UK National Lottery operator Camelot has announced it is dropping online Monopoly and Scrabble games to prevent underage people from gambling. New gambling rules stipulate products that appeal to children under the age of 18 are not permitted in an overall effort to prevent gambling-related harm to children.CAP (Committee for Advertising Practices) introduced new restrictions on October the 1st 2022 to prevent sports and video games from promoting gambling including high-profile football players, celebrities, and reality TV stars, which are highly influential to the younger generation.
Instant Win Games
Monopoly and Scrabble are part of the “Instant Win” group of games offered by the National Lottery. Players under the age of 18 cannot play instant win games, although these types of games are deemed as low risk for triggering gambling problems. However, Camelot made the decision to remove the two games, reiterating its safer gambling policy in accordance with CAP regulations.After an in-depth review of its advertising policy, Camelot decided to change the graphics on two other games Winter Wonderlines and Fruity Bingo, both games will no longer display fruit images and symbols which may appeal to younger people.
Ban on Sports Personalities and Influencers in Advertising
In a combined effort with operators, CAP’s framework for gambling advertising will not include the use of sports stars, social media influencers, YouTubers, and TikTokers all of which are deemed attractive to a younger audience.Director of CAP Shahriar Coupal said, “Putting an end to old ad practices that were appealing to the younger public means opening the gates to an adult audience suitable to use these age-restricted lottery products. Camelot’s decision to remove the two instant win games might be one of its big decisions in the role of the National Lottery, prior to the upcoming handover to new steward Allwyn UK.”