The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has underlined its ‘zero tolerance’ approach to underage betting in a new animation, highlighting a range of initiatives launched by the organisation to combat the issue at hand.

The two minute-long video also warns of the threat from the illegal and growing online black market, which has none of the protections for under-18s offered by the regulated sector. 

“As the standards body representing the regulated industry, we are committed to doing all we can to protect young people,” reaffirmed Michael Dugher, Chief Executive of the BGC.

“Our members rightly have a zero tolerance approach on this issue, which is why we have welcomed the Government’s decision to increase the minimum age for playing the National Lottery to 18.”

BGC members are currently funding a £10 million national education programme for young people, delivered by gambling harm prevention charities YGAM and GamCare, which aims to educate 120,000 young people and train over 100,000 professionals. 

Dugher continued: “For our part, we have introduced a raft of new online protections for young people and taken action to reduce their exposure to gambling advertising, and our work with YGAM and GamCare is also delivering results, with progress during the first year of the partnership far exceeding expectations.

“We are making good progress, as our new animation shows, but we are committed to doing even more as part of our ongoing drive to deliver change and raise standards.”

In addition, the BGC recently introduced new restrictions preventing under-18s from being able to view betting adverts online, including a code of conduct blocking football clubs from promoting gambling operators and betting websites via official social media accounts and platforms.