Undercover investigators unearth that bookies were taking bets from under aged gamblers. A shockwave went through the gambling industry after the Gambling Commission unearthed that almost every bookmaker observed by its investigators was allowing bets being placed by under aged gamblers.

The undercover action by the Gambling Commission monitored all five of the larger betting operators, who account for about 80% of gambling shops. The action found 98 of the 100 shops investigated, allowed a minor to place a bet at the counter. The legal age for betting is 18, and staff are consistently told to check the ID of anyone who appears to be under 21. The commission has asked senior executives from the industry to discus how to solve the problem. A senior executive at the Association of British Bookmakers promised that they would respond to the commission’s report with a plan of action in the next few weeks.

All of the bigger bookies train their personnel to ask anyone who appears to be under 21 for identification, before they start gambling. Andy Lyman from Association of British Bookmakers said there will be more training for staff, and warned employees who do not handle the “think 21″ code would face the consequences, most likely they will lose their job. The Gambling Commission has send a reminder to all bookies that they must have effective policies and procedures in place, to prevent under aged people from gambling and to warn them more mystery shopping actions will be held in the future. “We were told by the government that reforming gambling laws would help to protect our children, but yet again we have damning evidence that shows that isn’t happening,” said Don Foster, the Liberal Democrats’ culture, media and sport spokesman. “With 98% of betting shops failing this test, you have to ask whether the industry is taking its responsibility to prevent children from gambling seriously. The commission’s ’softly, softly’ approach is extremely worrying, sending out a strongly worded letter to these companies simply isn’t good enough.” This is an example where online gambling won territory on casino gambling, because online casinos have extensive age confirmation forms.

Uncategorized