The UK Gaming Group GVC Holdings’s CEO Kenneth Alexander urges his industry to rein in its advertising in order to regain the trust of the public.
He has called for a “ban on gambling adverts being shown before the UK 9 pm watershed period.” He has promised to do so and says his competitors such as William Hill and Paddy Power Betfair agree that they should stop saturating radio and TV broadcasts, especially before a sports game.
Alexander said he supports a restriction on such ads as a way to protect younger audiences from becoming involved in gambling.
He said, “We should make the changes collaboratively with the rest of the industry, which might be difficult, and ultimately it’s up to the government to decide if they want to legislate or not.”
The opposition Labor Party has proposed a “whistle to whistle ban” on betting advertising should it gain power.
During the recent World Cup in Russia UK audiences were bombarded by about 90 minutes of gaming related advertising, according to a study by the Guardian. This blitz of advertising has apparently caused a dramatic surge in public opinion against such advertising.
This may have prompted the UK Gambling Commission’s program director, Jan Angus to declare, “At a time when consumer trust in gambling is at an all-time low, it would be unwise for an industry to ignore the hardening public and political mood around advertising.” He added, “for many, including a growing number of researchers and academics, it reflects a genuine concern about the unknown impacts of children’s exposure to gambling advertising and sports sponsorship.”
A coalition representing church and political leaders from all parties has called for a ban that would bracket all sports events an hour before and an hour after. It is led by Lord Chadlington, a Conservative member of the House of Lords, but also including members of the Labor, Liberal Democrat and SNP parties, as well as the Church of England.
Chadlington supports adopting the model used in Australia, which bans such ads before and after and during live sporting events. He hopes to eventually ban all forms of gambling ads. He commissioned a poll that shows that 58 percent would support a total ban on such ads. Some critics claim that the ads give a false impression of the odds and encourage addiction.
Chadlington wants to go farther than the Labor proposal for banning ads during live matches, arguing that it leads to “cramming” of advertisements right before the games begin.
He declared, “My grandchildren may well look back on this period of UK social history when we allowed almost unfettered gambling marketing with the same bewilderment that we all now look back a time when cigarette smoking was freely advertised on TV.”
Bishop Alan Smith of the Church of England told the Telegraph: “The firms have singularly failed to exercise any sort of restraint. In order to protect vulnerable people, we have to explore legislation as they are not prepared to be responsible.” He added, “It is not just the amount of it but also the style that wills people to bet in a short time on something that will happen in the next few minutes which is particularly problematic for addicts.”
The industry has increased advertising spending 63 percent in the last five years, for an annual expenditure of £312m.
There are an estimated 2 million players at risk with 430,000 receiving treatment, according to the Royal College. The college’s spokesman for addiction, Dr. Henrietta Bowden-Jones said, “Our pathological gamblers report finding the multiple and sequential opportunities to place a bet extremely enticing. If they are presented with the opportunity of losing all their money in a short space of time, they will always choose this over other options.”
