NATIONAL Lottery operator Camelot has announced a major rule change for players.

Changes to Lotto have come into force after being announced earlier this year which changes the threshold on who can play.

From now on, people under the age of 18 will not be able to take part in the game as well as being stopped from purchasing scratch cards.

Lotto takes place on Wednesday and Saturday nights while the Euro Millions takes place ever Tuesday and Friday.

The change will bring an end to a tradition in the UK when Brits are bought Lottery tickets for their 16th birthday.

Campaigner Matt Zarb-Cousin, director of Clean Up Gambling, previously said: “Britain is the only country in the world that allows children to gamble.

“The loophole that lets under-18s buy lottery tickets has been exploited to peddle rapid instant win games to children, which act as a gateway to harder forms of gambling.

“These games have more in common with online casinos than lotteries. The government should increase the minimum age to 18 as soon as possible.”

A spokesperson for Camelot said: “Now that a decision has been made to raise the age to 18 by October 2021, we’ll be doing everything we can to implement all of the changes that will be necessary as quickly as possible, while ensuring that we maintain the very high standards demanded of the National Lottery.”

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