The Church of England has spoken out about its concerns over gambling advertisements, calling for a ban on all gambling adverts before the 9pm watershed in UK television. UK television has a long-standing tradition of airing only family and child-friendly content before that time, and the number of people campaigning for this sort of limitation on gambling promotion in the UK, in light of the traditional watershed, is certainly growing at the moment.
The Church has also called for a ban on gambling advertising during all sports broadcasts.
A recent Populis study of 1,000 14-18 year olds showed that two-thirds of respondents stated that gambling adverts present gambling as a fun activity. This is part of the position held by the C of E and other anti-gaming advert campaigners: that this content is fuelling problem gambling in children. The use of celebrities and junior footballers in gambling promotions has also been heavily criticised.
The survey in question was commissioned by a Conservative Peer, Lord Chadlington, who has been quoted in the national press about the issue to the effect that Britain should not ‘normalise’ betting as an integral part of sports in the eyes of young people. It further found that only a quarter of respondents felt that TV gambling adverts ran with sufficient warnings about the dangers of gambling, and that almost half of these teenagers also felt that the adverts conveyed the notion that gambling was ‘a good way’ to earn money.
As the government looks set to bring the limit down sharply for fixed odds betting terminal stakes in the coming weeks, the industry is bracing itself not just for this, but the potential for a great deal more regulative scrutiny and shake-up to come in the year ahead, as well, and restrictions on advertising seems sure to be a hot topic on the table.
