British children hooked on lottery

More than half of British children aged eight to 16 have played the National Lottery or bought Instants scratchcards, with almost one in 10 spending pounds 5 or more on the games each week, according to a survey released yesterday.

The School Children's Attitude Monitor carried out by The Media Business Group found that 58 per cent of those surveyed claimed to have bought tickets or scratchcards and 48 per cent said they had won prizes. The lottery watchdog, Oflot, expressed surprise at the response, which is significantly higher than that revealed in their most recent survey. Ticket sales to children aged under 16 are illegal, and retailers can be stripped of their Lottery machines if they are found to have flouted the law.