The betting corporations Paddy Power and Betfair will become the first bookmaker to limit the amount young gamblers can lose. The limit for individuals aged under 25 will be at £500 a month. The main reason behind this limit is because 0.4% of problem gamblers in the UK are aged between 16-24.
There will also be gamblers that can afford to lose more than £500 a month, but the bookmaker will make a detailed process of their finances before their limit increases.
The announcement from one of the biggest bookmakers in the UK comes just after the Government announced that it would introduce tougher gambling laws in the next weeks.
The NHS’s top gambling addiction expert, Henrietta Bowden-Jones, said that capping the losses for people under 25 at £500 a month should not be applauded, and even £100 a month losses for these kinds of gamblers would be disastrous.
However, the gambling industry has hit back, saying that punters should be free to choose how will they spend their money and not be asked sensitive financial information by their bookies.