In line with the National Lottery’s commitment to the promotion of positive play in retail, PLI has decided to introduce limits to the number of Scratch Cards that can be purchased in any one or series of consecutive transactions.
This new Player Protection initiative will allow a maximum of 10 Scratch Cards to be purchased per transaction and will come into force from 21 September 2020. This limit will serve as an additional control to help address a number of key areas of concern that can contribute to problem play by (i) limiting the total spend in any one transaction or series of contemporaneous transactions & (ii) enabling a break in the ‘session of play’ to allow a player evaluate if they are playing responsibly.
The new limits will be mandatory across all retail points of purchase and your obligations in this regard will be incorporated into the Retail Sales Agent Compliance Policy when it is updated and distributed later this year. This change has already been reflected in an amendment to the Retail Sales Agent Authorisation issued earlier this year and all relevant Codes of Practice have been updated accordingly.
Included in this pack is a copy of the new Purchase Limits presenter which sets out the rationale for the introduction of the limits and provides a comprehensive FAQ section to answer any queries you may have relating to the new initiative along with an in-store merchandising guide. Also included is a copy of your Retail Agent Certificate, your proof of authorisation to sell National Lottery products, which must be displayed prominently in-store.
Our Merchandising partners Lites will visit your store over the next 5 weeks to replace all existing compliance & age control material with a newly designed suite that calls out the new transaction limit on Scratch Card purchases. PLI will also use this opportunity to refresh all retailer-facing Think 21 collateral as part of this campaign.
It should be noted that failure to comply with the new Purchase Limits will be considered a breach of the Retail Sales Agent Compliance Policy and as such attract penalty points and sanction up to and including suspension or termination of your Retailer authorisation.
Compliance with the new purchase limits will also be measured as part of the National Lottery’s Mystery Shopper programme to build an awareness and understanding of the new limits and it is important that this is brought to the attention of all staff dealing with the sales & promotion of Lottery products. A new tutorial on new Scratch Cards purchase limits will be posted to the Retailer Portal shortly but if you have any queries or require any further clarifi cation around any of the detail in the enclosed presenter please contact your local Sales Representative or any member of the Retail Support Team by phoning the Help Desk on 1800-224455.
May we take this opportunity to thank you in advance for your co-operation in this regard and your continued support and commitment to the National Lottery.
Purchase Limits Brochure
