HC Deb 12 March 1998 vol 308 cc343-4W
Mr. Faber

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to raise the minimum age for playing slot machines and scratchcards to 18 years. [34155]

Mr. George Howarth

There is already a minimum age of 18 for £10 all-cash amusement-with-prizes machines in amusement arcades.

There are no current plans to extend this limit to machine gambling generally or to raise the age limit for scratchcards. However, the Government keep the age limits under review.

Mr. Faber

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidence he has evaluated in respect of the numbers of people under the age of 18 years playing Pronto. [34160]

Mr. George Howarth

None.

Mr. Faber

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidence he has evaluated concerning under age gambling on slot machines in public houses; and what action he proposes to take as a result. [34154]

Mr. George Howarth

There is no minimum legal age for machine gambling in public houses.

Dr. Sue Fisher's report for OFLOT on young people's gambling, published last month, was based on a survey last summer of 9,774 schoolchildren aged 12–15 years.

Thirty per cent. said they had played amusementwith-prizes machines (commonly known as fruit machines) in the past week, 19 per cent. with their own money. Of the 19 per cent., 44 per cent. had played machines in public houses.

Four per cent. of the total were identified as problem fruit machine gamblers.

We are carefully considering the implications of Dr. Fisher's study and whether we should take any action as a result.