Review could spell the end of £10 scratchcards

More than half of all lottery ticket sales in the island come from £10 scratchcards. But the UK’s National Lottery scrapped them in 2019 following concerns that those games were most attractive to problem gamblers.

The cards are in the sights of a review of the whole of the lottery in the run up to the end of distribution and game-maker contracts in 2027.

They could be replaced by subscription-based lottery, similar to the UK’s Postcode Lottery, which is seen as less vulnerable to misuse and addiction.

States senior lottery officer Jon Taylor said that any significant changes to the lottery would likely require a States debate.

‘We have two priorities – we have a responsibility to our citizens to enable safe gaming and secondly to return a profit to go to good causes. Last year £2.5m. across the islands went to charity,’ he said.

‘The States’ Trading Supervisory Board operates the lottery and ensures safeguarding – any change to that mandate is one for the States.

‘It’s a moral dilemma. We have a fantastic, successful lottery, and have had for 50 years, which generates significant money for good causes – but it is gambling.’

Mr Taylor admitted that the £10 tickets were the big sales driver for the lottery. Last year they accounted for more than half of all CI Lottery sales, which totalled nearly £25m. Sales continued to rise in Guernsey, particularly on £10 scratchcards.

The review will also assess what more can be done to promote responsible play and awareness of help for problem gamblers.

Scratchcard gambling has been found to be associated more than any other gambling with poor health indicators.

Local research has been carried out in relation both to the extent of problem gambling in the island and support for the lottery generally.

The review should be complete by end of the year.