77% of Adults Voted for a Total Ban on UK Gambling Adverts- Survey

According to the nationwide poll, the majority of citizens in the UK have supported a total ban on gambling adverts, while three-quarters of the people voted for strict restrictions should be in place.

The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) took the survey of over 12000 people in the UK and requested that the government review its gambling regulations and limit the advertisements running on the internet, television, and radio.

Christina Marriott, the RSPH chief executive, said that gambling is highly addictive and has no difference from tobacco.

The YouGov survey also revealed that at least 77% of UK adults support the complete ban of gambling advertisements on TV and radio before 9 pm. The same number of people also voted against the ads on social media platforms.

The gambling market in the UK, getting back to its feet after months of the pandemic shutdown, is investing more in online advertisements than television. However, since more and more people are spending time on social media platforms, casino owners are using these platforms to attract potential players.

The anti-smoking group ASH, which also took the public health survey, found very little objection to completely banning gambling ads. Out of the surveyed 12,247 adults, 14% of voters opposed strict measures; the rest were in its favor.

Presently, the gambling sector is abiding by rules set by the government’s “whistle to whistle” code. Under this code, companies will not show any advertisements during live sporting events.

Marriott mentioned that since gambling can harm individuals, families, and workplaces, a firmer stance opposing it maintains cultural lives. In addition, there should be no longer air time for products harming health, like gambling and tobacco.

In October last year, the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) had launched a public consultation to ban gambling ads featuring sports personalities and reality TV stars. This is to crack down on marketing that targets under-18 players.

Ads that feature sports personalities induce the younger audience to gamble, bringing negative results in the future. As a result, the CAP has been working to tighten ads on betting and gambling to bring down its potential effect on young crowds.