People aged 16 or 17 could be banned from buying scratchcards under plans being discussed in Whitehall.

The sport minister, Mims Davies, told the House magazine she wanted to change the law so under-18s could not gamble. That would include scratchcards, as well as national lottery draws, which are currently available to anyone over 16.

“We need to be very clear that gambling starts at 18 … It’s not to stop people from having fun, but it’s also to protect those most vulnerable people. That’s where the government needs to step in,” she told the magazine. And she singled out the sale of scratchcards to 16 and 17-year-olds as an area where she would like to act, saying: “I’d be hopeful to do that soon.”

Her comments followed the launch of a review of gambling laws last May, in which ministers indicated their intention to begin looking at the issue. On Thursday evening, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said any such changes would not come into force until 2023, when the current licence to operate the national lottery is up for renewal.

While the minimum age for such gambling is 16, the age required to bet in a casino is 18. A study by the Gambling Commission in 2018 found 450,000 young people aged 11 to 16 gambled in a week. The same study discovered 16% of 11 to 16-year-olds said they purchased national lottery scratchcards at least once a week or more.

During the interview, Davies was also asked if she supported a ban on gambling firms advertising on sports clothing. While she said the government’s assessment of the issue was ongoing, insisting that the completion of the gambling review “doesn’t mean that we’ve stopped”, she indicated she would prefer to focus on the minimum age issue.

Last month, ministers floated the idea of banning the use of credit cards for betting. The culture secretary, Jeremy Wright, expressed concern that up to 20% of deposits with some gambling firms are made using money consumers do not actually have. The Gambling Commission said it would look into the issue and warned that regulation could follow.