The ban on gambling advertising has not been good for the British media and telecommunications company Sky Limited. The company has revealed that it lost almost 100,000 customers over the third quarter of the fiscal year. Furthermore, the conglomerate announced that the recently announced ban on gambling advertising during sports matches which are aired on TV had a negative effect on its performance.
Yesterday, the Comcast-owned British satellite broadcaster unveiled that its revenue fell by 4.2%, while its underlying profitability increased. The American cable group which currently owns Sky Limited acquired the broadcasting operator only a year ago, in a deal worth £30.6 billion. The acquisition was carried out after months of bidding and counter-bidding process in which Walt Disney and Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox participated.
Now, the owner of the media and telecommunications company revealed that its third-quarter revenue suffered a decline from $4.75 billion last year to $4.55 billion, with the advertising sales generating an almost 18.2% decline, reaching $446 million. According to Comcast, the weaker results reflected the unfavourable impact which the recent change in gambling advertising legislation in the UK and Italy had on the broadcaster, along with the overall market weakness in the region.
Whistle-to-Whistle Gambling Advertising Ban Rolled Out to Protect British Viewers form Possible Gambling-Related Harm
As mentioned above, Comcast has highlighted the ban on gambling ads during televised sports events, which was rolled out at the beginning of August 2019, as one of the main reasons for the weaker performance of its Sky Limited brand.
Eliminating currency fluctuations, the overall revenue of Sky Limited increased by 0.9% thanks to the improved content and direct-to-consumer sales. It also revealed an increase in its adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) from $650 million last year’s third quarter to $899 million in the third quarter of the current financial year.
The beginning of August 2019 saw a voluntary “whistle-to-whistle” advertising ban come into force. Under the new regime, all gambling adverts are suspended during live sports events aired on TV before the 9:00 watershed. The only exception from the new legislation is made for horse racing because live advertising has been deeply connected with the very nature of this kind of gambling.
Last December, some of the largest gambling companies in the UK have voluntarily agreed to stop advertising their products on TV at the time when sports events are aired live. The agreement of the Remote Gambling Association (RGA), which includes former Paddy Power (now Flutter Entertainment), bet365 and Ladbrokes (now consumed by GVC Holdings), was reached after the pressure on British gambling operators have been climbing over the last few years because of the large number of gambling ads aired by local broadcasting groups.
According to reports, British sports fans and TV viewers were “bombarded” with gambling ads during the 2018 World Cup. This trend has been strongly criticised by anti-gambling campaigners, who believe that such a policy could make gambling look normal to people, especially to children and individuals who are more vulnerable. The subsequent whistle-to-whistle ban has been brought into action as part of the joint efforts of the gambling regulatory bodies and the industry to protect British customers from potential gambling-related harm.
- Author
Daniel Williams
