The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has introduced new, more stringent regulations for gambling advertisements. They are taking a firm stance against any content that could be excessively attractive to minors under 18, including the use of popular soccer athletes.
These regulations are officially effective as of October 1st, and all marketing materials must comply with them.
Previously, the rules were somewhat more lenient. They stipulated that ads should not be “particularly appealing” to children. This implied that an advertisement could be prohibited if the ASA believed children found it more engaging than adults.
However, the regulations are now more rigorous. Advertisements that are “strongly appealing” to young people are also prohibited.
The new code states: “Gambling ads cannot be…likely to be strongly appealing to children, particularly by resembling or being associated with youth culture.”
This signifies that any advertisement that children might find appealing, even if adults also find it appealing, could be banned.
The updated CAP rules forbid gambling companies from using “top soccer players and soccer stars with a large following on social media under the age of 18” or “athletes widely known to under-18s” in their promotions.
In addition, “references to video game content and gameplay favored by under-18s” will be prohibited.
However, CAP recognizes that sports, particularly football, and esports hold a strong appeal for youngsters, as “engagement and participation rates are high among under-18s,” and a stricter interpretation of the rule could ban all betting marketing related to these sports.
Therefore, it adds, “the rule does not ban advertising of gambling products associated with activities that are themselves strongly appealing to under-18s (for example, certain sports or playing video games).”
Moreover, “reality TV stars popular with under-18s” will also be banned from appearing in advertisements, with CAP specifically pointing out the show “Love Island.”
“The days of gambling advertisements featuring sports stars, video game imagery and other content strongly appealing to under-18s are coming to an end,” said Shahriar Coupal, CAP’s director. “By ending these practices, our new rules introduce a new era for gambling advertising, one that is more targeted towards the adult audience they can legally target, and more appropriate for the age-restricted products they promote.”
Fresh regulations were established following a discussion on safeguarding children from gambling advertisements. The discussion itself was founded on a report by GambleAware on the topic.
The discussion garnered 27 replies, some of which advocated for more stringent rules, including a total prohibition on gambling advertisements.
One of the replies came from the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), a trade organization. The BGC stated that it was already working to reduce the exposure of young people to gambling advertisements, such as establishing an AdTech forum to explore technical solutions to the issue, and its members have implemented a whistle-to-whistle ban on gambling advertisements during live sporting events.
“In this context, it appears unnecessary for CAP to impose a more rigid regulatory framework on an industry that has already largely met or surpassed expectations,” the BGC stated.
The BGC added that the primary changes, compared to existing rules, would be around the use of sports, particularly sports figures, in gambling advertisements. It stated that prohibiting the use of prominent sports figures would be “going too far.”
“Gambling is inherently linked to sports, which has a universal global appeal,” the BGC stated. “Any limitations on the use of sports figures, according to the proposed strong appeal test, would have a significant impact on gambling operators. The current specific appeal test and supporting guidance can continue to effectively restrict advertising content.”
Restricting the focus of attraction considerations to viewers under 18, without addressing the allure of the same material to mature audiences (as suggested in the robust attraction test), is excessive.
“We believe this disparity exists because: (a) it is unclear whether the appeal of sports stars to children or teenagers will impact their views on gambling; (b) there are numerous ways in which advertising can be highly effective in targeting audiences, but may not qualify for the age verification exemption because it has “extremely strong” metrics.”
BGC also highlighted that it seems betting marketing on goal scorers would not be exempt and would consequently be prohibited. However, in the final version of the regulations, CAP clarified that these would be permitted “to include text or audio references to specific players alongside generic football imagery,” rather than images of the players.
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