Gambling: Advertising

(asked on 12th April 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what directions he has issued to the Advertising Standards Authority on limiting the number of children that are exposed to gambling advertising.


Answered by
Caroline Dinenage Portrait
Caroline Dinenage
This question was answered on 20th April 2021

The Advertising Standards Authority is an independent body. The Government works closely with them across a wide range of areas, including gambling advertising.

All gambling advertising, wherever it appears, is subject to strict controls on content and placement. Adverts must never be targeted at children or vulnerable people. The Advertising Standards Authority independently administers these standards through the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) which covers online and non-broadcast spaces and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) for TV. If an advert for gambling holds particular appeal to children and is freely accessible then it will break the rules.

The Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) recently concluded a consultation on proposals to amend their advertising codes to further limit the potential for gambling adverts to appeal to children. The broadcast advertising codes make clear that adverts for commercial gambling must not be shown during or adjacent to television programmes directed at or likely to appeal particularly to children.

The Industry Code for Socially Responsible Gambling Advertising also prohibits gambling advertising on television before 9pm, except for adverts promoting bingo or lotteries, and sports betting in limited circumstances (not immediately around or during live sport).

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