The ASA reported that children in the UK saw an average of 1.8 gambling adverts per week on television in 2023, down from 3.0 in 2010. It said under-16s’ exposure had fallen by two-fifths since monitoring began, while exposure ranged from 1.7 adverts weekly in Northern Ireland to 2.3 in Scotland.
The figures inform operators and regulators assessing children’s exposure to gambling advertising on television.
The day’s most important stories, free. One email a day.
The UK Advertising Standards Authority ruled against gambling affiliate website Best Bookies and Betting Sites after one of its search advertisements appeared in response to a query seeking self-exclusion information. The report says the ruling concerned an advertisement shown to a user looking for help with self-exclusion.
The UK Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint against Optival Ltd, which operates bestbookiesandbettingsites.co.uk, after a betting advertisement appeared in response to a search for self-exclusion information. Optival said it had not intentionally targeted those searches and that automated matching may have triggered the ad; it said it would expand its negative keyword safeguards.
A complaint about a gambling-related search advertisement that appeared when a user searched for “self exclusion bookies” has been upheld against betting affiliate website bestbookiesandbettingsites.co.uk. The ruling concluded that the advertisement had been irresponsibly targeted and might have been displayed to individuals who were actively trying to reduce or stop their exposure to gambling. The regulator’s Wednesday release stated that the paid search advertisement promoted online bookmakers and welcome bonuses following a user’s search for self-exclusion information.
The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority warned Optival after finding that a paid search ad for Bestbookiesandbettingsites.co.uk appeared in response to a search for ‘self-exclusion bookies’. The complainant, who had self-excluded from gambling, saw the ad on 10 August; Optival said automated query matching likely caused the placement. The ASA said the ad must not appear for that search again and told Optival to ensure future search ads are responsibly targeted.
Optival has received a warning from the UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which concluded that a paid-for search ad promoting Bestbookiesandbettingsites.co.uk had been targeted in an irresponsible way. The regulator ordered that the ad no longer be served in response to the query "self-exclusion bookies", and told Optival to make sure its future search advertising is responsibly targeted.
A House of Lords committee recommended banning almost all gambling advertising in an updated report. The follow-up to its 2020 inquiry also proposed making the Gambling Commission the main statutory authority for gambling advertising, replacing the ASA.
A UK Lords Committee has called for a complete ban on gambling advertising in a follow-up report, according to reports. The committee also criticised the Advertising Standards Authority’s approach and urged the government to adopt a public-health focus.