As reported by Casino Guardian, UK gambling operators, advertisers and broadcasting companies have offered the Government to take part in its addiction awareness campaign funding. The campaign is being coordinated by the Industry Group for Responsible Gambling (IGRG) and is worth about £8 million.
At first, the willingness of betting companies to join the gambling addiction awareness campaign seemed like an act of nobility, but is it really so? Does the fact operators made their proposal at a moment when the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is expected to publish its long-awaited review of the local gambling sector seem like a simple coincidence? Hypocrisy, in fact, is more like it.
”Perfect Timing”
In the light of the recent events, the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, Tom Watson, shared his concerns with the possible inducements of local gambling operators that have pushed them to offer covering of one part of the campaign funding. Mr. Watson highlighted that the timing of the proposal perfectly coincides with the time when the UK Government is finally preparing to release its gambling industry review that is to give more clarity on the sector and more specifically on the controversial fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs).
Watson raised a red flag, saying that the gambling addiction awareness program funding could come as an attempt of gambling operators to manipulate local regulatory authorities and make them more favourable at the time when the Government’s review is officially released. In fact, such a theory does not seem scandalous at all, considering the fact that UK regulatory authorities have been trying to make the legislation and regulatory framework stricter in order to reduce possible negative effects gambling activities could have on players.
The constantly increasing market share of gambling and online gambling over the last few years has resulted in increased competition between the gaming companies which operate on the territory of the UK. Having that in mind, it seems strange that gambling operators in the country have suddenly demonstrated willingness to raise their customers’ awareness of possible negative effects related to gambling.
Something just does not feel right there, especially considering the massive amount of money gambling operators usually invest in their advertising campaigns aimed at attracting new customers. Let us be honest – £8 million are not that much in an industry that is estimated to billions of pounds, and gambling operators would not cover the entire sum themselves. Still, it definitely seems strange that gambling companies have decided to take part in the gambling addictions awareness program at a time when stricter regulatory measures are being considered by the Government.
However, stricter regulation on the industry, and more specifically, on the controversial fixed-odds betting machines could result in the country losing millions of pounds over the upcoming years, as the UK gambling sector currently has a massive market share from the country’s economy.
Increased Advertising Spending
Helping gambling awareness organisations and charities by offering them funding is not a bad thing. However, trying to manipulate the authorities in order to draw benefit from that, is. And getting engaged with problem gambling awareness campaign is nothing much than hypocrisy, especially considering the millions of pounds that local gambling operators spend on advertising to attract more customers – the same customers they now claim to protect.
Last year, a 46% increase in online casino, sports betting and bingo games advertisements over a period of three years was revealed. It became clear that the UK gambling operators have spent nearly half a billion pounds on TV adverts since 2012. According to a survey, online casino, poker, sports betting and bingo operators spent the amount of £118.5 million on TV advertising in 2015. In comparison, an overall amount of £81.2 million was spent by such companies in 2012.
The massive increase in advertising spending over the period ended up in combines £456 million that have been spent since 2012. And when an amount of £169 million spent by local lottery firms on TV adverts is taken into account, the overall figure is boosted to over £630 million.
Taking all this in mind, gambling companies’ investment in the £8-million addiction awareness campaign seems like a joke – a joke that could cost UK players hundreds of thousands of pounds in case that the competent authorities are misled by the operators’ proposal and demonstrations of their commitment to fair and transparent gambling.
- Author
Daniel Williams
