ASA Gives Green Light to Gambling Advertisers

This article was produced by Olswang LLP, which joined with CMS on 1 May 2017.

The expectation in some parts of the media that the liberalisation of gambling advertising on 1 September 2007 would lead to a proliferation of advertising campaigns has proved largely unfounded. However, that may be about to change after the ASA announced its approval of 99% of all gambling advertisements surveyed.

It is hardly surprising that 1 September 2007 was not met with a stampede of gambling operators rushing to exercise their new advertising rights. Political and public concerns about the forthcoming liberalisation led to a raft of regulation, much of which was rushed through at the last minute, restricting the content of gambling advertisements. With the wide drafting of the relevant provisions of the Act and ultimate sanctions for breaching some advertising regulations including revocation of gambling licences, operators (and publishers) can be forgiven their reluctance to be made an example of.

However, following its clearance of Ladbrokes' high profile television advertising campaign, the results of the ASA's Gambling Survey published on 21 February 2008 make encouraging reading for the industry. With the vast majority of monitored advertisements deemed compliant, operators can now start to view early campaigns as precedents for what the regulator will deem acceptable advertising content.

The ASA monitored 784 advertisements across all media between 1 September and 31 October 2007. Of those, only seven advertisements (less than 1%) seemed to breach the ASA's Advertising Codes, which the ASA described as "an exceptionally high compliance rate". Christopher Graham, the Director General of the ASA, added that the survey results "are confirmation that advertising self-regulation is working effectively".

Of the seven advertisements which seemed to breach the codes, four were attributable to a single advertiser. Six of the non-compliant ads appeared on television, whereas only one (a pop up) was published on the internet. The main reason for breaching the codes was that the advertisements were said to have appealed to children (five of the seven), with one purporting that gambling can increase self-image and lead to financial security, and the other linking gambling to sexual success.

The ASA contacted the advertisers in question and told them to withdraw the advertisements.