These Shops May Face Penalty Fines of $2.3 Billion for Selling Alcohol to Minors

According to a recent study from ID Crypt Global, stores in England may be facing huge fines for selling alcohol to underage children. (Photo: Clam Io/Pexels)

Supermarkets and corner shops in England may be facing penalty fines of around £2 billion ($2.3 billion) in relation to selling alcohol to minors, according to research conducted by digital identity specialists ID Crypt Global.

The retail sector may also be looking at fines of £1.6 billion ($1.8 billion) for reportedly selling tobacco to minors.

According to London Loves Business, 37% of school children in England admitted to acquiring alcohol within a one-month timeframe. There are approximately 4.6 million 11 to 17-year-olds in the country, which results in 1.7 million minors obtaining liquor illegally in a month.

Two percent of these school children admitted to purchasing liquor from shops — resulting in an estimate of 34,124 underage children buying booze from shops in a month’s timeframe, the report mentioned. That makes for a yearly sum estimate of 409,483 illegal alcohol sales.

“It’s estimated that over 900,000 11 to 17-year-olds have a fake ID in England, so it’s fair to say that it isn’t just negligence on the part of retailers that is to blame when it comes to the sheer volume of children illegally obtaining alcohol and tobacco products on a yearly basis, said CEO and Founder of ID Crypt Global, Lauren Wilson-Smith, according to the report.

The U.K. Trading Standards issues a level-three fine penalty of up to £5,000 (5,769.72) for selling alcohol to a minor on a licensed premise, the report stated. So — with 2% of minors buying liquor from a store — fines of up to £170.6 million per month could be issued for a yearly sum of £2 billion ($2.3 billion).

“The good news is that 21st century technology is helping to advance the ways we can prove an identity, by allowing consumers to create verified, digital proof of identity that can be stored via mobile devices securely and with no third party access to personal data profiles,” Wilson-Smith mentioned, per the report.

According to Wilson-Smith, these advancements in technology will help stop the use of fake IDs and aid in preventing future illegal purchases without an ID.

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