Speaking at a parliamentary debate on gambling in advertising, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Conservative MP for Chingford and Woodford Green called on the ASA to create a new set of codes to deal with modern online gambling marketing.
“The current codes are ill-equipped to deal with the online-specific forms of marketing. The ASA should consider the creation of new codes as opposed to revisions of pre-existing codes. That would perhaps ensure that social media and online marketing can be effectively regulated,” he said.
SNP MP for Inverclyde Ronnie Cowan, agreed: “Self-regulation is not sufficient for any industry ever-hungry for more.”
Meanwhile, Labour MP for Luton South Rachel Hopkins highlighted that while she wasn’t “completely opposed” to betting, she felt it was “clear that gambling addiction is fuelled by excessive gambling advertisements”.
The debate, which took place earlier this week (13 March), aimed to address concerns raised about a “lack of delivery” on a white paper from the Gambling Commission and the government.
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Among the proposals in the white paper – which was released in April last year – are calls for “tougher restrictions on bonuses and direct marketing”. It also calls on operators to use smarter technology to direct gambling advertising away from children, and to introduce new ‘Safer Gambling’ messaging.
However, in December 2023, the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee shared a report which concluded that “the government should have taken a more precautionary approach to gambling advertising in general”.
Concerns were raised in January this year by the Gambling Related Harm All-Party Parliamentary Group, which revealed that between 6 in 10 people see betting ads or sponsorship at least once a week.
Gambling advertising on TV was legalised in the Gambling Act 2005 under Tony Blair’s Labour government with a rise in young people being impacted since.
A recent campaign from GambleAware highlighted the impact gambling addiction can have, with a targeted billboard which read “Gambling clouded everything I did” and released smoke to highlight the mental consequences.
