Industry-funded charity GambleAware is calling on the incoming government to ban all betting adverts at sporting events and on-pre watershed TV, claiming that there is concrete public support to do so.
According to a survey carried out by the organisation, as many as two-thirds of people in the UK believe that there are too many gambling adverts in the media – especially during major sporting events such as the ongoing Euros.
Unsurprisingly, GambleAware also found that such adverts pose a considerable risk to people with a pre-existing gambling problem, making them 40 times more likely to place a bet after seeing them than the average person.
Despite drafting a white paper last year that set out some guidelines towards more robust regulations, such as £5 cap on digital slot machine stakes and new affordability checks – the current government has no concrete plans to tackle gambling ads.
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Calling this a ‘missed opportunity’, GambleAware is now urging the government to take a much firmer stance – despite gambling minister Stuart Andrew previously stating that there was no evidence to suggest gambling marketing caused harm.
“Advertising has been overlooked. Even if there hadn’t been an election we’d be calling on government to do this. “The data starts to make you feel that the pushback from the last government, that there is no causation, needs to be re-examined,” said GambleAware CEO, Zoe Osmond.
A Betting & Gaming Council spokesperson added: “The regulated betting and gaming industry provides some of the country’s most popular sports with vital funding, including the English Football League and its clubs, which receive £40m annually.
“The government has previously stated research did not establish a causal link between exposure to advertising and the development of problem gambling. Betting advertising and sponsorship must comply with strict guidelines and safer gambling messaging is regularly and prominently displayed.”
