UK gambling operators have been criticised for undermining their promise to cease their advertising during coronavirus lockdown.
According to Members of Parliament who have called for the Government to intervene in the gambling advertising sector, gambling companies are undermining their promise to stop promoting their services to local customers during coronavirus shutdown by what they described as “thinly veiled” ads masked as social responsibility messages.
The members of the trade body of the gambling industry of the UK – the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) – that currently constitute the larger part of the country’s gambling industry made a promise in April to cease their radio and TV commercials to respond to public concerns that the most vulnerable members of society and underage individuals were at greater risk during the social isolation because of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Last Friday, the gambling firms promised to promote “safer gambling” and provided some details regarding the tools their customers can use to prevent themselves from losing control over their gambling habits and start making larger deposits or play more. Previously, a cross-party group of Ministers sent a letter to Nigel Huddleston, the culture minister, insisting on their belief that these “safer gambling” ads were disguising gambling commercials.
Gambling Companies Prefer Not to Use Their Generic Brands, Campaigners Say
According to the cross-party group, one of these messages used by the casino brand Mr Green encourages people to bet. The same applies to the casino brand of Sky Betting & Gaming. A third commercial of Paddy Power’s casino brand has been blamed for offering no information at all about safer gambling and gambling protection measures.
The anti-gambling campaigners have also criticised the safer gambling slogan “When the fun stops, stop”, saying that the word fun is should not be emphasised on because it could create the wrong impression.
The cross-party MP group has revealed that in the three above-mentioned ads the gambling companies preferred to use not their generic brands, but their smaller casino units that are currently getting more traffic, considering the lack of sports events for customers to bet on. The all-party parliamentary group that has been focused on reducing gambling-related harms for UK customers, has been claiming that the so-called “safer gambling” messages were clearly forms of advertising masked under the messages promoting social responsibility. The Members of Parliament, who are also members of the group, claim that this has been just another proof that the self-regulation of the gambling industry had been a failure.
The Betting and Gaming Council said that 50% of gambling ads are not released by its members, with the National Lottery and bingo considered to account for the remaining part of the commercials. The anti-gambling group has also shared its concern with the situation so that other gambling companies follow its members’ suit, too.
- Author
Olivia Cole
