Guidance to operators for age verification test purchasing (non-remote)

Introduction

It is an offence under the Gambling Act 2005 (opens in a new tab) (Sections 48 and 49) for a young person to gamble or to enter gambling premises restricted to adults. It is also an offence for a person to invite or permit a young person or child to gamble or to enter age-restricted gambling premises (Gambling Act 2005 (Sections 46 and 47) (opens in a new tab).

For these reasons, and to reinforce our role to protect children and young people from gambling-related harm, we require licensees to put in place effective age verification policies and procedures.

We also require operators to carry out age verification test purchasing. This is one method by which we assure that that an operator’s age verification policies and procedures are effective.

This page provides a summary of our:

• non-remote age verification test purchase requirements
• guidance for operators on conducting age verification test purchasing
• guidance on recording and submitting test purchase results to us
• other age verification related reporting requirements.

Summary of non-remote age verification test purchase requirements within the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP)

This section provides a summary of our age verification test purchasing requirements for holders of non-remote gambling operating licences. They are taken from our Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP).

The following requirement applies to all casino operators, bingo, betting, adult gaming centre (AGC) and family entertainment centre (FEC) operators in fee category C and above.

"Licensees must conduct test purchasing or take part in collective test purchasing programmes as a means of providing reasonable assurance that they have effective policies and procedures to prevent underage gambling, and must provide their test purchase results to the Commission, in such form or manner as the Commission may from time to time specify."

The relevant Social Responsibility codes are:

• Social responsibility code provision 3.2.1
• Social responsibility code provision 3.2.3 (8)
• Social responsibility code provision 3.2.5 (7)
• Social responsibility code provision 3.2.7 (9).

Additionally, the following ordinary code provision applies to AGC, bingo, betting and FEC operators in fee categories A or B:

"Licensees in fee categories A or B should consider how they monitor the effectiveness of their policies and procedures for preventing underage gambling (for example by taking part in a collective test purchasing programme) and should be able to explain to the Commission or licensing authority what approach they have adopted".

The relevant Ordinary Codes are:

• Ordinary code provision 3.2.4 (5)
• Ordinary code provision 3.2.5 (6)
• Ordinary code provision 3.2.8 (6).

Guidance on conducting age verification test purchasing

General guidance on age verification test purchasing is as follows:

• each licensee is responsible for ensuring they comply with our LCCP requirements. If a licensee chooses to take part in a collective test purchasing programme (for example, one organised by a trade association), they must assure themselves that the collective programme provides reasonable assurance that the licensee has effective policies and procedures to prevent underage gambling
• the scale and frequency of age verification test purchasing necessary will vary dependent on the size of the business, the sector of the industry they are licensed to operate in, local risk assessments, and other similar factors. As a minimum we expect that all of an operator’s premises are tested at least once a year
• we expect tests to be conducted at different times of the day (morning, afternoon, and evening) and at different times of the year. If an operator holds different licence types, the scope of test purchasing must be sufficient to assure compliance for each licence type
• an increased level of testing will be appropriate in some circumstances, for example during the summer for AGCs and FECs in seaside resorts, or in betting shops during high-profile sporting events such as World Cup football
• age verification test purchase visits to gambling premises should be unannounced
• licensees, or third parties contracted by them to conduct age verification test purchasing, must not use a child or young person to conduct the tests. This would constitute an offence under the Gambling Act 2005 (opens in a new tab) (Sections 48 and 49) (or Sections 46 and 47). Typically, testing is conducted using “young looking” 18-21 year old adults. As operators should be applying a ‘Think 21’ or ‘Think 25’ policy, individuals younger than these ages should be challenged in any case
• test purchase results must be recorded and submitted to us at the end of the financial year in which the test took place (see below for Guidance on submission of age verification test purchasing results data). The data submitted is to be broken down per UK financial quarter
• for reporting purposes, test purchase results should be recorded as ‘challenge before gambling activity’, ‘challenge during gambling activity’, ‘challenge after gambling activity’, or ‘unchallenged’
• the definition of a ‘challenge before gambling activity’ includes any challenges conducted at the entrance to a premises; noting that it is illegal for a child or young person to enter most types of gambling premises. In an FEC, this could be a challenge before or at the point that the tester attempts to enter the Category C gaming machine area
• where a premises fails a test purchase visit, we expect the premises staff to be informed of the result and for retesting to be carried out. We expect the retest to be conducted as soon as practicable after remedial action has been taken and no longer than three months after the failed test
• if test purchasing results reveal weaknesses across several premises, we expect operators to review their age verification policies and procedures and take measures to improve compliance
• we do not endorse, or ‘passport’, age verification test purchasing standards used in other industries or jurisdictions. Use of these standards by operators, or test purchase organisations contracted by them, does not guarantee our acceptance that test purchasing meets our LCCP requirements. As the national regulator for gambling, we are not resourced to engage with, review or comment on standards that may be developed in different regulatory regimes.

Guidance on recording and submitting age verification test purchasing results data

Licensees required to conduct age verification test purchasing must send us annual returns listing the aggregated results of age verification test purchasing they, or organisations contracted by them, have conducted each quarter.

Returns must be submitted using a templated Microsoft Excel Open XML format spreadsheet, a blank copy of which follows on this page. Completed spreadsheets are to be submitted to testpurchaseresults@gamblingcommission.gov.uk within 42 days of the end of each UK financial year (that is, by 12 May for the year ending 31 March).

Operators who hold multiple operating licences in different gambling sectors (such as, Adult Gaming Centres, betting, bingo, casino and/or Family Entertainment Centres) must send us separate results spreadsheets for each operating licence they hold.

We only require licensees to send us basic results data (the volume of tests, by result type). But we expect them to record other information, such as the addresses of premises, the relevant local authority area, appropriate time of day a test took place (morning, afternoon, evening) and, where failures occurred, the results of retests. This additional information should be held by the licensee and made available for inspection should we, or a local authority, request it.

Licensees in fee categories C or above are responsible for submitting their own test purchase results to us directly (that is, not via trade bodies or third-party age verification test purchasing suppliers). For licensees in fee categories A or B, we will accept submissions on their behalf by trade bodies, so long as the results are presented in the spreadsheet format below and are clearly identified at licensee level. Trade body submissions must not include any data for licensees in fee categories C or above. We will not accept submissions by third-party age verification test purchasing suppliers for any fee category.

We use age verification test purchase data to assure ourselves that age verification test purchasing is being carried out by licensees and to assess the effectiveness of age verification policies and procedures on a licensee, sector, and industry-wide basis.

Other age verification related reporting requirements

Licensees must tell us when a child or young person repeatedly attempts to gamble on premises restricted to adults. See LCCP notification (repeated attempts by children or young people to gamble).

They also need to report to us any offences under Sections 46, 47, 48 and 49 of the Gambling Act 2005 (opens in a new tab), in accordance with LCCP Licence conditions 15.1.1 (Reporting suspicion of offences etc – non-betting licences) and 15.1.2 (Reporting suspicion of offences etc – betting licences).

Operators must also tell us about the total number of ‘People who have gambled who were unable to verify their age’ as part of their business’s regulatory return.