Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Faulkner of Worcester (Labour). It was answered on Tuesday, 29 November 2005.

Internet Gambling: Age Verification

Question: My Lords, I declare an interest as a trustee of the charity GamCare and I thank my noble friend for his reply. His comments about the code of practice produced by the Remote Gambling Association will be widely shared throughout the industry and among those concerned with the problem of gambling. However, is he aware that children as young as 11 are able to obtain debit cards such as the Solo card from high street banks which are then used to finance illegal purchases of Internet gambling and other items available on the Internet such as knives? Does he not agree that it is time that the banks themselves took some responsibility for proper proof of age verification before they allow their cards to be used in this irresponsible way?

Answer: My Lords, my noble friend is right to say that there are some problems regarding the issue of credit cards, but he will recognise that when credit cards are used for gambling, which is the concern of my department, it is for the industry to carry out verification checks. I know that the banking industry is anxious about credit cards being misdirected.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 676 c101
Session: 2005-06
Oral question type: 1st Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Lords chamber
Subjects: Children Age Banks Credit cards Gambling Internet Proof of identity Young people Debit cards Age assurance
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk