The National Lottery strives to make its players aware of the dangers of developing a gambling addiction, and are committed to making sure that The National Lottery is being run in a socially responsible way - keeping the games fun while still keeping the vulnerable safe, like young players (under the age of 16) or people in low income groups.
All the games that The National Lottery provides, including the lottery games are approved and completely licensed, have advertising strategies that should not prove appealing to the under 16s or players of a low income, with all the advertisements adhering to strict and relevant codes of practice. Also, Camelot (the company that runs and regulates The National Lottery and its components) works with a company called GamCare, with an aim to reduce practices of problem gaming in the gambling field.
The National Lotteries Advice
The National Lottery and Gamcare advise all their players that the should always be aware of the following when gambling:
Gambling is a fun pastime - but is not a genuine and effective way of earning money. Gambling should not be used as an alternative to work.
Never play with more than you can afford.
Never chase your gambling losses.
Keep track of your spending, and the amount of time that you play.
Use the Play Limits that The National Lottery website provides, if possible.
You can always obtain more advice, or talk to someone by contacting GamCare.
Help and Support
There are several methods in which the National Lottery offers help and support to its players - from limits on the account of the player, right to complete account exclusion. These include the following:
Account Limits
- The amount of games you can play a day on the National Lottery site can be restricted to a certain amount, to help keep a control on the amount spent. The maximum amount of Instant Win games, for example, that can be bought in any one day is 75, with the National Lottery website letting players know when they are getting close to reaching this limit.
Weekly Add Funds Limit
– The amount of money that can be added to a players account per week can also be restricted. For example, you can limit your deposit amount to as little as £5 a week, with a maximum amount you can possibly play on The National Lottery website being £350 a week.
Temporary Account Exclusion
- It is possible to temporarily exclude yourself as a player to play on the Lottery draw games as well as the instant win games by contacting the customer care team for the National Lottery website. This is set for a minimum of 6 months. If after these 6 months you change your mind, then the account exclusion can be cancelled by again contacting the customer care team.
Permanent Account Exclusion
- If a temporary exclusion from the account is not enough, it is possible to permanently have your account excluded from the website by contacting the customer care team on The National Lottery website. This process is completely irreversible.
Time Played
- When logged into their account on The National Lottery website, the website keeps a record of the amount of time the player has been playing. After a minute of play, a message will appear in the top-right hand corner of each of the pages on the website, which states the total amount of time logged in for that session. This message will not update while the player stay on just the one page of the website, it will only update when moving around to different pages on the site, or when the player presses "Reload" or "Refresh" on their browser. It is possible to screen shot these pages, so that players can record the time played on a day-to-day basis.
Confirmation of Deposits
- When a player adds funds to their account, a message to confirm this will appear, informing the player how much they have added, and the recently amount that has been spent on National Lottery games on The National Lottery website.