Gambling operators are facing a probe over their TV adverts aired at the time of the 2018 World Cup after claims that the commercials were specially designed to target vulnerable viewers, including under-aged individuals.
The UK advertising regulatory body – the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) – is investigating the issue after receiving 115 TV gambling ad complaints during the international football championship over gambling adverts. The number of complaints saw a massive increase, especially compared to the fact that 27 complaints were filed in the month preceding the World Cup. Betting companies were accused of using an advertising policy aimed at encouraging potential customers to place bets quickly, with more vulnerable audiences being targeted in the process.
The probe has emerged at a time when there had already been some concerns that the gambling sector did not manage to make sure operators’ adverts did not pose a risk to under-aged individuals or problem gamblers, or ones at risk of becoming gambling addicts.
As Casino Guardian reported in July, the UK gambling advertising body was engaged in making an assessment of the 115 complaints received by local customers in order to make sure there was enough evidence to start a formal probe into the advertising strategies used by gambling operators at the time of this year’s World Cup competition. In addition, the focus of the initial ASA’s review has been on whether live odds violating the new advertising rules unveiled in February have been featured by the gambling ads in question.
According to a new YouGov Custom Research, the 2018 World Cup played an important role for the UK online gambling operators’ performance in terms of attracting new customers. The survey results showed there was a surge in the number of customers who placed a bet with online gambling companies at the time of the football championship.
New ASA Rules Do Not Affect Games from the World Cup
Currently, gambling advertising in the UK is subjected to a strict regulatory regime. However, betting operators have been blamed for breaking these rules at the time of the 2018 World Cup in Russia to take advantage of TV audiences at risk.
In addition, some gambling companies have been accused of breaking the rules under which betting should not be “normalised” for people, and especially for children and problem gamblers. Operators have also been blamed for lack of responsibility to customers, as they may have given the latter a false perception of the risk involved, making them look much smaller than they truly were, by offering various incentives to encourage people to place quick bets, such as special bonuses or free bets.
Under the rules of the ASA, gambling adverts are not allowed to appear at the time of programmes which are especially aimed at children, or on dedicated under-aged individuals’ channels. These rules, however, are not extended to football matches and major sporting events, in spite of the fact that such events usually attract massive child audiences. This basically means that games from the World Cup are not affected by the rules under which ASA suspends gambling companies from targeting minors by using programmes and incentives which could turn out to be attractive to children.
- Author
Olivia Cole
