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A short(ish!) thread on gambling advertising during COVID-19: 1/14
I recently wrote to the ASA (the UK’s advertising regulator) expressing concern about several gambling ads being shown on TV, including this one. 2/14 https://twitter.com/GambleWithLives/status/1259411391062179841
This came despite a well-publicised pledge from the Betting and Gaming Council, with a headline move to “remove TV and radio gaming advertising during COVID-19 lockdown” https://bettingandgamingcouncil.com/news/gaming-advertising-removed/ 3/14
This pledge gave its member gambling companies considerable positive media coverage, including in the BBC, who presented the announcement that “firms have voluntarily agreed to remove all advertising”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52447288 4/14
Except, it wasn't the case. Rather than removing all ads, gambling firms are still pumping them out, modified with their own industry-created warning messages. 5/14
While that might sound sensible, as we learn from other unhealthy commodities (e.g. alcoholic beverages), letting industry design these labels can result in strategically ambiguous, vague and ineffective messages... 6/14
For example, these might rinse and repeat the ‘do something irresponsible responsibly’ statement for drinking and gambling), priming the default behaviour being to gamble rather than abstain. http://www.ias.org.uk/Blog/What-does-the-alcohol-industry-mean-by-responsible-drinking.aspx 7/14
Alternatively, messaging can be used to downplay the perils of addiction, presenting a risky activity as a deficiency of willpower rather than a result of pervasive advertising. 8/14
When I queried these ads the ASA, they informed me that as the BGC pledge was voluntary, it was not their place to decide if it was being met. An excerpt from this correspondence is below: 9/14
This overlooks the serious health implications of gambling. It can not only ruin a person’s health, but also lead to irreparable financial damage to the families it blights. As @FPH describe, gambling is profoundly a public health issue: https://www.fph.org.uk/media/1810/fph-gambling-position-statement-june-2018.pdf 10/14
This feeling also shared by many in the Commons: @CommonsPAC have serious concerns about the way gambling advertising is currently regulated. 11/14 https://twitter.com/CommonsPAC/status/1277142821703766016
And during lockdown, the @FT has reported a suggestion that gambling patterns are changing away from sports, to ‘casino-style’ games that are linked with addiction. 12/14 https://www.ft.com/content/02057249-2b67-44c8-b9fd-9d16d4b228ca
In a nutshell, this shows the flaws of letting industry regulate itself, that those of us in #CDoH research know only too well. An industry pledge with carve-outs and caveats, not considered in scope to enforce by the regulator, while creating a nice bit of PR for bookies. 13/14
Ultimately, the people who lose are those manipulated by the blight of gambling - but let's not let that get in the way of a good headline. 14/14.
