The current operator of Britain’s National Lottery, Camelot, has reported major success with its Operation 18 Programme. This mystery shopper initiative showed that most British retailers do care about customer safety.
What is the Camelot Operation 18 Programme?
The Operation 18 Programme was created by Camelot to test British retailers commitment to gambling safety. This is a mystery shopper system that notes whether or not a retailer checked proof of age on the first visit by asking for a valid ID. The system uses young adults to ask for lottery tickets and if the retailers allow them to purchase three times without asking for ID, their ability to sell the tickets would be suspended with the option to completely ban them.
There were over 11,600 visits made to retailers across Britain and the findings showed that there were record-breaking ID check rates. 92% of retailers requested proof of ID to verify customers age before they would sell gambling products.
The minimum age to buy a lottery ticket in the UK rose in 2021 from 16 to 18, which Camelot has stated makes the results of Operation 18 all the more remarkable.
More About Camelot’s Responsible Retailing Training
As well as running its Operation 18 programme to test retailers on their customer safety in purchasing lottery tickets, Camelot also runs Responsible Retailing training initiatives. Some of the training initiatives included retailers of the National Lotter tickets being contacted over 160,000 times via various means including by phone and email, and being provided with advice on responsible gambling and how to stop underage gambling.
There is also another Mystery shopper program from Camelot, Healthy Play. With this system, employees frequented over 4,000 stores to educate retailers on responsible gambling. The retailers are tested with the healthy play knowledge check, which 94% passed.
Camelot is proud of its reputation and relationship with retailers. At the end of the year, it reported that 88% of retailers were content with Camelot’s level of service via its retailer hotline.
Camelot has been purchased by new licence holder Allwyn and these best practices are anticipated to continue following integration of the two businesses.
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Jennifer McFadyen
iGaming Specialist
Jennifer McFadyen is a slot specialist and iGaming journalist with years of experience analyzing online slots and industry trends. She provides detailed, transparent insights into RTP, volatility, bonus features, and game design, helping players navigate the latest releases.
Beyond slot reviews, Jennifer covers iGaming news, casino platform evaluations, and industry developments, offering expert analysis on new game launches and responsible gambling updates.
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