Children of problem gamblers ‘more likely to be bought scratchcards’

Exclusive: findings of UK survey come as charity warns early exposure risks creating a pathway to addiction

Children whose parents are problem gamblers are more likely to have been bought scratchcards, according to research from the GamCare charity, which is warning that early exposure risks setting young people on a pathway to addiction in later life.

More than a third (38%) of Britons who were problem gamblers had bought scratchcards for their children, compared with 22% of those who had a low-level problem, 8% of non-problem gamblers and 5% of non-gamblers, according to a YouGov survey commissioned by GamCare, which runs the National Gambling Helpline.