British problem gamblers are still being bombarded with online casino adverts on Google while trying to get some help to deal with their addiction.
As it has recently become clear, the algorithm used by the global search company still makes it possible for online gambling operators to promote the special bonuses they offer to users. Many of these companies even openly confess that they have been able to bypass special software and restrictions that had been installed in order to prevent such adverts from reaching gambling addicts.
Some recent reports showed that Google searches for UK programme that allows people to ban themselves from online gambling services in the country, Gamstop, actually make it possible for users to reach lists of Internet casinos that are based outside the UK and the self-exclusion service is technically not applicable to them. Such advertising materials potentially attract more vulnerable people back to gambling, eventually pushing them to place more bets at a time when they are actually trying to find a way to quit gambling.
At the time when the media reports have emerged, some of the gambling ads were still visible in the global search engine, even after Google revealed that the violators had been banned from the AdWords platform. Such adverts had also been among the top results from a “Gamstop UK” search in Google, with users who had been seeking to stop gambling for good being redirected to lists of offshore casinos that would allow them to circumvent the self-exclusion service in the UK.
Carolyn Harris MP Scolds the Practice Calling the Online Gambling Adverts “Immoral”
As mentioned above, the search results for Gamstop UK led users to some foreign casino websites that accept British customers and bypass regulations regarding self-exclusion services in the UK by promoting hundreds of online casino games, such as blackjack, roulette, online slots, etc. The games are offered by virtual casinos, many of which are based in Curacao, Cyprus and other locations.
Some searches on Google even showed that the link to the official Gamstop website was displayed below some of the aforementioned adverts. The same applied to searches for other related terms.
The recently-made revelation made the Chair of a cross-party group on gambling-related harm, Carolyn Harris, scold the practice and describe the adverts as “immoral”. Ms Harris explained that Google is not necessarily the one to blame for the situation, because the global search company was, in a way, also a victim of some online gambling operators’ ingenuity of online gambling operators who had been capable of circumventing the measures that are put in place.
The all-party parliamentary group led by Ms Harris is now expected to reconvene and to initiate an inquiry into some issues related to online gambling adverts that are considered to be undermining the governmental and regulatory efforts to tackle problem gambling.
Fiona Palmer, Chief Executive Officer of Gamstop, also shared her concern about the impact such advertising may have on problem gamblers who have been trying to leave gambling behind by signing in the national self-exclusion scheme.
- Author
Olivia Cole
