Gambling firms face probe over their World Cup TV adverts
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is looking into whether commercials ignored rules designed to stop them using psychological tricks to encourage placing a bet quickly.
The watchdog received 115 complaints about TV gambling ads during the World Cup in Russia, which compares to just 27 in the month before.There are concerns the industry failed to ensure the adverts did not pose a risk to children or people with a gambling addiction.
Under ASA rules, gambling ads cannot appear on dedicated children’s channels or around programmes aimed at youngsters.However, this does not extend to football matches and other big sporting events, despite the fact that they attract huge child audiences.
An ASA spokesman said: ‘The gambling advertising rules already place an emphasis on protecting young and vulnerable people from potential harm. ‘Our new guidance introduced earlier this year restricts gambling ads that create an inappropriate sense of urgency, clamps down on ads that encourage repetitive play and provides more detail on vulnerable groups like problem gamblers that marketers need to work to protect.
‘We’re currently assessing several ads that appeared during the World Cup to establish if any further action needs to be taken.’
