At the time when the first lockdown in the UK was imposed, the gambling operators in the country had a hard time adapting to the changes and sticking to them.
After they have faced some criticism on their habit to take advantage on vulnerable people, the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) revealed in late April that the members of the trade body decided to voluntarily remove their adverts from television and radio channels for a period of six weeks. At the time, the group representing gambling giants described the move as a step that would ensure better protection for customers.
The coronavirus lockdown ended up with literally no live sport, leaving punters not only in the UK but across the world with no live sports events to bet on. The measures also forced all high-street betting shop operators shut their land-based outlets and forced them to become more dependent on their online operations.
Some of these issues have not appeared so far during the current lockdown in the UK. Live sports are still available, despite events such as popular horse races and Premier League matches are only allowed to take place with no audience. The other major issue that is now different is the fact that the gambling sector remained silent on the possibility for another voluntary advertising ban.
According to experts, however, any halting of gambling advertising on radio and TV channels has been used as a way to reduce criticism of the anti-gambling campaigners.
Brits Tend to Gamble More Online during Coronavirus Lockdown
Reports have shown that during the first lockdown, the stay-at-home measures unveiled by the Government have made more people gamble online by using their laptops or smartphones.
As revealed by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), there was an overall decline in gambling participation rates because of the lack of live sports. However, online poker participation rates rose by 38% between March and April, while online betting increased by 40%.
A massive jump was registered in searches for online casinos. What is worse, this happened particularly in cities and city areas that have unemployment rates higher than average. Data provided by YouGov revealed that individuals who are already gamblers probably watched TV more and were more likely to spend money on online entertainment in comparison to the ones who are not gamblers.
Some analysts have said bookmakers in the UK have been making some bold moves by spending much time, effort and money on posting adverts on social media, considering the fact that most people have been spending more time online than before the pandemic. According to health experts, the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdowns have led many people to behavioural changes that could push them into spending too much money on gambling.
The behaviour of gambling operators has led to a massive wave of criticism and the UK Government has backed the idea of stricter regulation on the sector in order to tackle the possibility of companies taking advantage of their customers’ problem gambling.
- Author
Daniel Williams
