The National Lottery has said it is implementing stronger measures to prevent children from playing.
It announced a new compliance initiative called “Think, Look, Check”, which aims to support retailers in consistently applying age control requirements at the point of sale for all National Lottery products.
The National Lottery Act 2013 prohibits the sale of National Lottery products to anyone under the age of 18.
Failure to comply can lead to fines of up to €5,000.
Age restrictions also apply to those claiming a prize.
The campaign comes after the Regulator of the National Lottery found in 2024 that nearly three in ten shops were still prepared to sell lottery tickets to minors.
That’s despite a significant uptick in ID checks and displaying of 18+ signs among retailers.
The watchdog called for “zero-tolerance” aproach from shop owners towards the sale of age-restricted products to children.
“It is important that robust safeguards are in place to ensure those protections are consistently applied across the country,” said Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers.
Protecting young people from underage play is a “central priority” for the National Lottery, said its CEO Cian Murphy, adding that it “will implement a series of further measures, including the launch of a new Retailer app and additional training videos for retail staff”.
