Earlier this year Ipsos B&A undertook a mystery shopping exercise on behalf of the Regulator of the National Lottery, to check the effectiveness of the National Lottery Operator’s efforts to ensure its retailers do not sell National Lottery products to under-18s.
The research found that almost three in 10 shops in Ireland failed to deny the sale of a scratchcard to underaged mystery shoppers, as a result The National Lottery Regulator is urging all adults to avoid gifting National Lottery products to children this Christmas.
KEY FINDINGS:
- Almost three quarters (72%) of Irish shops visited during the exercise refused to sell scratchcards to underage test purchasers – up from 62% in 2018.
- Mandatory ‘18+’ signage also observed in significantly more shops this year, up from 73% in 2018 to 92% in 2024.
- Some parts of the country performed better than others in refusing sales to the underage test purchasers, with Dublin (57%) possessing by far the lowest rate of refusal and the Rest of Leinster (84%) the highest. Munster’s (71%) and Connaught and Ulster’s (71%) results were consistent with the national picture.
Methodology
Nationwide fieldwork was carried out across 562 retail premises. The research was conducted by mystery
shopping teams which consisted of one underage test purchaser (aged 15, 16 or 17) and one adult Ipsos B&A interviewer (aged over 19). The teams visited a sample of 562 retail premises nationwide in July and
August 2024.
Each team member had a specific task assigned to them during the research:
- The underage test purchasers’ task was to attempt to purchase a €1 scratch card at each retail outlet in order to test the retailer’s response.
- The adult Ipsos B&A interviewer’s task was to supervise the test purchaser and to make and record
observations about whether the mandatory ‘18+’ sign was visibly displayed in each retail premises.
WATCH THE DEDICATED VIDEO ABOUT THE RESULTS
For more details, please contact Belinda.Norton@ipsos.com
