UK Culture Secretary Maria Miller has asked the Advertising Standards Authority to investigate the large number of gambling advertisements on television, a move that could lead to limits or possibly an outright ban.
Official figures show that the number of commercials, now around 1.4 million a year, has soared sevenfold since 2006, and Miller pledged changes to ensure “children and the vulnerable” are protected from them. She expressed particular concern over the impact on children, who as young as 4 are exposed to the advertising more than 200 times a year.
The huge rise in the commercials is attributed to the 2005 Gambling Act reforms, which contained a loophole allowing bookmakers, casinos and online gambling web sites to advertise at any time of day during sports events.
The ASA’s review is part of a wider crackdown the minister announced on gambling proliferation in Britain, and this is likely to include tougher rules for retail betting shops governing the operation of electronic casino-style table games, the major source of their profits and a flashpoint for opponents concerned about problem gambling and other social ills.
A recent study by the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, a leading opposition group, found that bookmakers and betting shop proprietors target the most deprived communities with the high-stakes machines, known as fixed-odds betting terminals, that have helped generate £13 billion for the industry last year. The study said that in the 55 most deprived areas of the country—areas of high unemployment, high crime and low income—there are more than 2,600 outlets.
The industry has responded to the controversy by formulating a code of conduct to protect players that includes voluntary spending limits and real-time alerts on the amount of time and money gamblers are spending on the devices. But Miller said, “This is clearly not enough,” and she wants the protections to be made mandatory and to include pre-set limits either on spend per session or on time.
She is also urging the shops to consider removing window ads for FOBTs and is calling for a national system of self-exclusion.
