As many gaming insiders expected, the UK government has begun to tighten up its regulation of the UK gambling industry. Some big names in the market have come under the regulator’s hammer in the past 12 months, and there have been several scandals surrounding advertising either using child-friendly content or being outright directed at children, as in the case of the junior footballers’ shirts scandal.
In this case, it is the Industry Group for Responsible Gambling (IGRG) which has acted to fortify its code on industry practice for advertisers. Beginning at the end of June 2018, all gambling TV advertisements will be required to make visual reference to either GambleAware and its accompanying website or a responsible gambling message for the full duration of the advert.
This is a pretty major and significant new requirement upon TV advertisers, and one which many in the industry will welcome – despite the accompanying corporate creative costs – for the protection it seeks to bring to consumers. It’s been announced that this requirement has been added to the 4th version of the Industry Code.
GambleAware is an industry funded charity dedicated to minimising gambling-related harm in the UK. It recently stated that it had fallen short of its annual fundraising goal of £10 million by 20%, and industry bodies, including the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB) have been calling for a mandatory levy to support it, instead of the voluntary one currently in place.
It was the government’s own review which overturned concerns amongst the public about gambling warnings in TV ads, namely, that they were placed and timed such that they were hard to notice or pay attention to.
Following the announcement, IGRG Chairman John Hagan stated: “As part of a wider package of measures flowing from the Government’s review, we believe this change to the Industry Code will help to improve the overall tone and content of gambling adverts, especially on television, in a way that will help to raise awareness of the need to gamble safely and responsibly.”
“In addition, we are happy to reiterate our commitment to review the Code on an annual basis, in order to consider any emerging issues.”
This is likely just one of many regulatory adjustments which the UK gambling industry can expect in the months ahead. It’s not just fixed odds betting terminals which are going to change. There’s a bit of a seismic shift going on in public and political perception of the industry, one which many of the presiding firms have yet to fully awaken to.
