The executive director of the UK Gambling Commission is calling for a more widespread and proactive strategy by UK bookmakers to protect problem gamblers.
Tim Miller, the commission’s director, says the gambling industry must work together to relieve risk placed on gamblers and increase player safety. Such moves would help the industry overcome a recent series of negative stories about the industry’s marketing practices.
In a recent speech, Miller said too much emphasis for player safety is placed on the players themselves rather than the gambling companies.
“We’re getting better at thinking about the responsible consumption of gambling but see little discussion or progress in the responsible supply of gambling,” Miller said. “We need to be preventing harm from occurring and not just responding to it once it has happened.”
To that end, the commission has conducted a number of studies on gambling in the UK, but Miller said more information is needed on the behavior and attitudes of players. He said that while two thirds of people polled by the commission believe UK citizens should have the right to gamble, almost 80 percent think there are too many opportunities to gamble.
The commission has proposed a set of guidelines along with gambling industry representatives, charities and safety groups, to standardize the requirements for safer gambling.
“The task of turning around those headlines, not through PR, but by truly making gambling safer may be difficult,” Miller said. “But it also means that for everybody sat here today we can have a job that changes lives, improves communities and benefits society.”
The comment s came as news broke that four gambling companies could face fines in the UK for ads run by their affiliates that target vulnerable players. One ad run by affiliates of several companies was disguised as a news article and recounted claims about a gambler who paid off his debts as well medical treatment for his wife by playing and winning online casino games.
The UK Advertising Standards Authority upheld complaints against Ladbrokes, 888, SkyBet and Casumo relating to ads placed by affiliates. The companies said they did approve or condone the ads, but the authority held them responsible as they could benefit from them.
The ads brought strong criticism for the industry—Britain’s Labour party called for “strong action” and fines from the regulator—when outlined in British newspapers. One ad referred to “William” who was “£130,000 in debt after having to sell the house and continue to pay out of pocket for his wife’s cancer-related medical bills their insurance wouldn’t cover.”
The ad recounts how William found a gambling promotion at Sky Vegas while scrolling Facebook and eventually won “over 30 times his annual salary in a single spin.”
The ASA upheld complaints against the “socially irresponsible” ad and three almost identical ads that named 888, Ladbrokes and Casumo as the online casinos in question.
The regulator said the ads breached the UK non-broadcast advertising code because they suggested gambling “could provide an escape from personal problems such as depression and that it could be a solution to financial concerns.” The authority also ruled that ads gave the incorrect impression that they were genuine news articles.
The Gambling Commission has not said what actions it intends to take in the case. All the companies involved have disavowed the ads and said they are taking steps to prevent their affiliates from running such ads in the future.
