The Committee for Advertising Practice (CAP) has announced new rules that are aimed at limiting the appeal of gambling ads to under-18s.
According to the CAP’s announcement, the new rules ban anything that is “likely to be of strong appeal to children or young persons”. Notably, this bans all topflight footballers from advertising gambling products.
the new rules ban anything that is “likely to be of strong appeal to children or young persons.
The rules will come into force on October 1st, 2022 just in time for the World Cup due to be held in December in Qatar.
The most significant changes will include a ban on gambling ads that feature:
- Topflight footballers and footballers with a considerable following among under-18 on social media.
- All sportspeople well-known to under-18s, including sportspeople with a considerable volume of under-18 followers on social media.
- References to video game content and gameplay popular with under-18s.
- Stars from reality shows popular with under-18s, such as Love Island.
The new rules have been introduced following a consultation on tightening gambling ads rules around content to further limit the appeal of gambling ads to under-18s and other vulnerable people.
According to the CAP, this is a step-change from the existing rules that gambling ads must not be of ‘particular appeal’ to children. A ‘strong’ appeal test prohibits content (imagery, themes and characters) that has a strong level of appeal to under-18s regardless of how it is viewed by adults.
Speaking of the new rules, Shahriar Coupal, Director of CAP, said:
“The days of gambling ads featuring sports stars, video game imagery and other content of strong appeal to under-18s are numbered. By ending these practices, our new rules invite a new era for gambling ads, more particular to the adult audience they can target and more befitting of the age-restricted product they’re promoting.”
Advertisers have until 1st October 2022 to implement any required changes to their marketing and advertising campaigns.
Ciaran has been working within the Gambling Industry as a deep analyst since 2019. His deep knowledge and understanding of all the gambling regulations, and processes makes him a true asset, and an always valuable point of view for Gambling Industry News, allowing us to cover every topics from a brand new perspective.