UK Lords push for sweeping gambling advertising ban
Britain could face one of the world’s toughest gambling advertising regimes after a House of Lords committee called for a comprehensive ban on gambling marketing and sponsorship.
The House of Lords Liaison Committee published its Gambling Harm—Time for Action follow-up report on September 17, recommending that the government introduce a broad advertising ban as part of a public-health approach to gambling.
The recommendation would potentially have major consequences for UK betting sites and online casinos, affiliates and professional sports organisations that rely on gambling sponsorship.
The committee said a comprehensive advertising ban represented the “most effective policy option” available to the government for reducing gambling-related harm.
It estimated that between one million and 1.5 million adults in Great Britain gamble at levels that may be classified as problem gambling.
Committee member Lord Foster of Bath said reducing advertising would also reduce participation.
“A ban on most gambling advertising would reduce gambling and therefore reduce problem gambling and the serious harm it causes,” Foster said.
“We are clear that this would shrink, rather than grow, the gambling sector and that this would make a positive difference to millions of people across the country.”
The committee also criticised governments for being too slow to respond to the explosion in digital advertising and newer forms of content marketing that can blur the distinction between advertising and editorial material.
It recommended that the Gambling Commission become the primary statutory regulator for gambling advertising rather than leaving principal oversight with the Advertising Standards Authority.
There would potentially be some exceptions.
The committee backed maintaining an exemption for on-course betting advertising at horse and greyhound racing venues and said the government should separately assess the risks associated with lottery advertising.
The recommendations are not law and the government will need to decide whether to adopt them.
Britain already has one of the world’s largest regulated online gambling industries, making any substantial advertising restrictions commercially significant for operators and sporting organisations.
