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Ban All Gambling Adverts, Say More Than Half of Britons 41

Posted by msmash from the yes-please dept.
More than half the public would like to see a ban on gambling advertising, according to a new poll taken as ministers prepare to unveil an overhaul of the industry. In the survey, carried out for the charity Gambling with Lives, 52% of respondents said they supported a ban on all gambling advertising, promotion and sponsorship, and nearly two-thirds wanted new limits on online stakes. From a report: Ministers are expected to reject a blanket ban on gambling advertising in a white paper that could be published this week. The Premier League recently announced that its clubs would end shirt sponsorship by gambling firms by the end of the 2025/26 season.

Will Prochaska of Gambling with Lives, which supports families bereaved by gambling-related suicide, said: "This poll displays the strength of public sentiment on gambling advertising. The Premier League's decision to remove ads from shirts but leave them all over stadiums and across broadcasts, is a cynical attempt to avoid regulation. This data shows the public won't be tricked into thinking it's enough. If gambling reforms fail to significantly restrict gambling advertising, they'll be woefully out of step with a public that expects action." The Survation poll of 1,009 adults found that 68% of respondents thought under-18s should not be exposed to gambling advertising, 64% supported affordability checks for those wanting to bet more than $124 a month, and 60% saw gambling as a danger to family life.
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Ban All Gambling Adverts, Say More Than Half of Britons More

Ban All Gambling Adverts, Say More Than Half of Britons

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  • In fact, (Score:5, Insightful)

    by phantomfive ( 622387 ) on Tuesday April 25, 2023 @03:04PM (#63476044) Journal
    shorten to "ban all adverts" /EOT

    • When it it an ad and when it it information?

      I run a movie theatre. I put posters in the window, "Now Playing", "Coming Soon"

      I have a website that lists what's playing.

      I have an email list for people who want to get a reminder of what's playing each week in their email.

      All of that is advertising, but it's also information that people want to have.

  • I'm no prude. I've sinned. Lots. And while poker is all I ever played in a casino, I have gambled. I don't want to police morality - I really, really don't. But other than infringement on freedoms (and not prescribed ones at that) by government, is there a down side to just keeping it off of advertising? I'll just talk from my North American ignorance and say it's probably unlikely that they advertise prostitution on television in Amsterdam. It's not like there aren't plenty of ways for gamblers to find the

    • Re:Is there a down side? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by test321 ( 8891681 ) on Tuesday April 25, 2023 @03:49PM (#63476140)

      I'm not sure it's about sinning. Advertisement in general promotes Envy; food advertisement promote Gluttony and/or Sloth; advertisement on cosmetics and clothing promote Pride; dating apps promote Lust; and none of this is banned from advertising. The problem with gambling is it creates an addiction, and gambling addiction creates social problems. It's fine if interested people find information on how to gamble, everybody knows about casinos anyway. But it's worth to think how to moderate their advertisement to avoid unnecessarily reaching people who would otherwise not have considered gambling, similarly to how many countries regulate advertisements of tobacco products and alcohol beverages.

    • Lower profits for the casinos and we can't have that

    • Back in the days when satellite tv was a thing some European broadcasters routed their transmissions thru UK as they had less strict rules on advertising, not only for gambling but ads aimed at children. I have no idea if that or something similar over the internet is still done at scale but if it is, a change might be a non-insignificant tax loss making it politically improbable.

    • Yes. Yes there is a downside to advertising.

      Be it ads for gambling or others. If you disagree, turn off your adblocker, I dare you.

  • I totally support this! (Score:3)

    by sentiblue ( 3535839 ) on Tuesday April 25, 2023 @03:12PM (#63476070)
    Even though this is something in the UK and won't affect my country, but I wish this was gonna happen in the US too. I pay to play the game, I totally don't wanna see ads on it. It makes sense and it stops info predators from stealing my information.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by lsllll ( 830002 )
      I think you just read the headline and not even TFS. It's not about seeing ads "while you're in the game", but rather ads outside of the game "for the game".

      I'm a degenerate gambler and will blow some wad in Vegas, or even in the local bar on slots "I know" don't pay back as well as the slots in Vegas, but I never spend more than I can afford. The unfortunate fact is that many people DO spend more than they can afford because they're addicted. The slot machines are addicting because of razzle dazzle,
      • You're right... I totally missed it and misunderstood that they're talking about ads inside games. And if that was the case, it doesn't matter to me one way or another because I don't gamble. I mean I do but at a level like once every 4 years I placed a $100 bet on the WorldCup final game. I've been to Vegas multiple times on business conventions, but never spent more than couple hundred bucks.

  • 24x7 (Score:2)

    by sjwest ( 948274 )

    I do not gamble - but i record tv with adverts and see many uk celebrities endorsing it. As far as know it is a broadcast tv issue

    I know as i fast forward them and the message as words becomes clear even to me.

  • This isn't out of compassion with weak minds (Score:5, Informative)

    by Generic User Account ( 6782004 ) on Tuesday April 25, 2023 @03:20PM (#63476092)

    Gambling ads are absolutely rampant in the UK. They're terribly obtrusive and annoying. I'm sure people don't care for others as much as they just don't want to hear or see another gambling ad in their life.

    • Re:This isn't out of compassion with weak minds (Score:5, Insightful)

      by garett_spencley ( 193892 ) on Tuesday April 25, 2023 @03:54PM (#63476158) Journal

      Ads are absolutely rampant. They're terribly obtrusive and annoying. I'm sure people don't care for, well, pretty much anything as much as they just don't want to hear or see another ad in their life.

      FTFY

    • I've brought this up a number of times recently with the wife - we are in Canada but sounds like something similar happened here. A law passed just in 2021 [www.cbc.ca] that kind of flew under the radar for people in terms of the ultimate impact. I think the general attitude here (regardless of political stripes) is that gambling was somewhat overregulated, or perhaps, that being true most people didn't see it in their face to have any issue with it.

      I say this as someone who definitely enjoys gambling more than the a

      • As a fellow Canadian, I totally agree: we tried loosening the rules because we were worried we were too strict, and just proved that we really were right all along and should have kept the gambling ads off the air. Now we are spending tax moneys on anti-gambling campaigns that run right alongside the gambling ads.

    • Gambling ads are absolutely rampant in the UK. They're terribly obtrusive and annoying. I'm sure people don't care for others as much as they just don't want to hear or see another gambling ad in their life.

      Replace gambling with prescription drug and you'll have an idea of a different kind of "compassion" running rampant in US advertising.

    • We have the same problem in Australia, almost every other Ad now is for a gambling app. If people want to gamble I have no problem with that, but block the fucking advertising of it already, it targets young and impressionable kids with the intention of showing it is fun to gamble.

  • I Bet It Won't Work (Score:4, Funny)

    by zenlessyank ( 748553 ) on Tuesday April 25, 2023 @03:21PM (#63476096)

    The monies that be say no.

  • I'd make advertising gambling a death penalty offence. No problem with the gambling ('cause I'm smart enough not to) , I just hate the ads.
    • I agree... I didn't mind that they made more gambling legal around here but the advertisements for it have been so pervasive and obnoxious that it is making me reconsider.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by genixia ( 220387 )

      I note that the NFL has decided that it's perfectly fine to advertise gambling all over their schedules, just as long as once per game they show a gamblers' anonymous PSA.

      The root cause of gambling is greed. Greed by those wanting to win big, and greed by those who own the house and want to get more people losing their shirts. Ban the ads.

      • It’s more complicated than just “greed”. Ok, on the casino side, you’re right, it’s pure unadulterated unapologetic greed.

        One the gambler side, yes some are simply greedy as well. But it’s been well documented that the whole “addictive personality “ thing is totally real for a lot of people. Basically, some people have a brain flaw. It’s essentially a security flaw in their human operating system, that makes them EXTREMELY EASY TO “HACK”
      • it is a lot more complex than just greed, It is a mix of greed, desperation in many cases and also those who run it specifically targeting addictive behaviors and personality traits. regardless though, there really is no good justification for allowing the advertising of it to continue, those that want to gamble will gamble with or without the advertising. The advertising is purely designed to bring in new suckers.

  • They'd find an illegal way to gamble with worse consequences while funding organized crime. There is no "no gambling" option because THE PUBLIC gamble, some unwisely.

  • USA needs to ban drug ad's and lower the prices.
    Also stop paying dr's big $$$$ to push there meds

  • DAVE TV will have to fill about 10 hours per day if England bans gambling ads.

  • The other half just said (Score:3)

    by Opportunist ( 166417 ) on Tuesday April 25, 2023 @05:55PM (#63476506)

    Ban all ads.

  • Gambling imposes a cost on society. It not only impacts the individual those surrounding the person including their employer. For example a significant percentage of fraud cases are related to problem gambling.
    So as a society we should be discouraging gambling not to protect the individual but to stop the collateral damage. A simple step to doing this is to stop gambling advertising.
    The main proponents of gambling advertising apart from the purveyors of gambling are the media and advertising businesses. And

  • ... yes, you have a point. But the desire to limit, restrict or "ban" (whatever that means in practice) gambling ads is based on the effect on society.

    In the UK there are some types of adverts that have restrictions (e.g. no junk-food adverts during children's programming or only-after 9pm adverts if broadcast live) and effective bans (e.g. no cigarette adverts on TV). The motivation behind these isn't an assault on free speech but an attempt to support well-being. People are still going to smoke, but less

  • Say want to bet the conservatives (because thats who is currently in power) don't?
  • Here in Michigan USA, you cannot watch TV during the day and not see at least one of these ads. Radio too. I see it as a problem to lure people into yet another addiction. I see it as just scams too. Get rid of them. No need. If people still want to lose money to internet thieves, they can do so. But no reason to advertise it.

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