Under-age test purchase for amusement arcades in Durham sees high failure rate

Some 10 out of 13 amusement arcades in County Durham failed a recent under-age test purchase conducted by the local authority and the Gambling Commission.

Under the test, a 16-year-old female volunteer entered the premises, asked for change and sought to play on a fruit machine. The minimum age limit for admission to gambling venues is 18.

The high failure rate came despite the arcades being previously warned in a letter that a test purchase operation was going to be conducted.

Joanne Waller, Durham County Council’s head of environment, health and consumer protection, said: “As a licensing authority we need to ensure that arcades in the county do not allow children access to gambling machines.

“This is the first time we have used our test purchase powers for this purpose and it is clear that there is a serious issue with non-compliance. We are very concerned about how many times our young volunteer was able to gain access to arcades and how reluctant some sellers were to operate checks and procedures to ensure she was above the legal age limit.”

She said the authority would now work with retailers to educate them as to their responsibilities. It will also conduct further test purchases.

Waller warned that operators who failed to operate proper systems to prevent access to their premises faced a number of sanctions, including having their licence reviewed or revoked or prosecution.

Nick Tofiluk, the Gambling Commission’s director of regulation, said: “Local compliance work like this is central to the effective regulation of gambling. Licensed adult gaming centres must put in place effective controls to prevent underage gambling and these results are a cause for concern.”