Dr. Carran contends that gaming corporations should prioritize safeguarding young individuals from gambling-associated risks comprehensively, extending beyond mere compliance with promotional guidelines.
The gaming sector has a longstanding practice of heavily depending on advertising. Considering the perceived and actual efficacy of these promotions in boosting engagement and the overall financial significance of marketing for gaming products, it’s unsurprising that businesses continue to invest significantly in this domain. Nevertheless, gaming advertising remains a subject of considerable debate, particularly concerning its potential to sway children and adolescents to gamble prematurely and its effect on those already grappling with gambling issues.
Although the Gambling Act of 2005, as modified by the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act of 2014, affords the industry advertising liberties, it also explicitly mandates the protection of minors and other susceptible demographics. Directing gaming advertisements towards children and youth constitutes a criminal violation. More broadly, however, it is inherently the obligation of the gaming sector to guarantee that its advertising does not contribute to gambling-related harm among young people.
Esteemed gaming organizations ought to be intimately familiar with UK promotional guidelines. These regulations aim to ensure ethical marketing practices and safeguard susceptible individuals, particularly adolescents. However, the crucial inquiry remains: are these measures truly effective?
In reality, further investigation is necessary to ascertain the influence of gambling advertisements on young demographics within the UK. While studies on alcohol and tobacco, or those conducted in other nations, offer insights, we cannot solely depend on them. Each product and region possesses unique characteristics.
The existing rules merit commendation for the considerable work invested by both the sector and governing bodies to rectify a chaotic landscape. Nevertheless, although the present directives have significantly reduced the industry’s capitalization on a major weakness – those prone to illogical, hopeful thinking – my personal investigations into wagering and youths in Britain indicate an intrinsic defect in the fundamental suppositions of the current regulatory structure. This structure functions on the principle that material attractive to grown-ups can be adequately isolated from material attractive to youngsters, or that contact can be sufficiently confined through temporal limitations.
Barring a minuscule fraction of very young, prepubescent children, there is no substantiation to uphold these premises, and ultimately, they seem unsustainable. Temporal and geographical regulations are simply ineffective in barring minors from accessing this material. Watersheds are applicable solely to broadcast promotions, and even this is weakened by the exemption granted to athletic contests, which numerous teenagers view, accompanied or unaccompanied by their guardians. It is equally impractical to believe that adolescent viewing habits are restricted to pre-9 p.m. programming, particularly considering the clear proof that…
A considerable portion of young people, approximately 8% between the ages of 4 and 15, are exposed to television broadcasts after 9 pm, with a subset remaining awake even later. This practice of late-night viewing diminishes the impact of television content classifications, particularly because this time period is frequently inundated with promotions for wagering activities. This is especially worrisome because it exposes youthful viewers to material that is unsuitable for their age bracket.
Although content limitations are undeniably vital for safeguarding young children, their efficacy diminishes when it comes to adolescents. The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) employs a framework to identify programs that are alluring to children and therefore inappropriate for gambling commercials. However, this framework neglects the substantial and well-established convergence of interests between adults and teenagers.
Numerous programs and online platforms designed for adults also draw in a teenage viewership. Some teenagers even deliberately pursue information and advertisements for goods and services that are restricted to them. This intersection of interests poses a challenge to attempts to categorize advertising based on target demographics. Ultimately, neither adults nor children constitute a homogeneous group, and what captivates adults often holds a comparable, sometimes even greater, appeal for teenagers.
The present method of controlling wagering promotions is exacerbating the issue, not improving it. We depend on grown-ups to determine what youngsters find enticing, but that’s not how it functions. Simply because a child sees a mature advertisement and enjoys it doesn’t mean they comprehend the reality of the situation. Children aren’t as adept at discerning the subtleties of marketing, and they don’t process data the same way adults do. They view these betting commercials and perceive them as cool, enjoyable, and thrilling, akin to a massive celebration everyone desires to attend. They describe them as humorous, alluring, and fashionable, even associating them with attractiveness and sex appeal – despite this being explicitly prohibited!
Furthermore, we are aware that celebrity endorsements and sports sponsorships amplify the appeal of gambling advertisements to young individuals, yet we continue to permit it! These gaps entirely undermine any endeavor to safeguard children from being inundated with messages portraying gambling as glamorous and devoid of risk.
The crux of the matter is that we must go beyond merely imposing a few limitations on the content of these advertisements. We need to confront the elephant in the room – the sheer quantity of gambling promotions pervading our surroundings, from television to the internet to newspapers. It’s time to acknowledge that our current strategy is ineffective.
Although all business promotions require ethical content and age restrictions, marketing for wagering appears to disproportionately affect young demographics. Some individuals express feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of these advertisements, leading to disengagement and avoidance.
The gaming sector must acknowledge the wider ramifications of its practices. Safeguarding youth from gambling-associated risks should be paramount, extending beyond mere compliance with advertising guidelines. This holistic strategy could, in fact, prove advantageous for the industry. If both the populace and those involved in the gambling sphere perceive a genuine dedication to societal well-being, rather than a superficial facade, it could enhance the public image of the entire domain. This should be regarded as a worthwhile and attainable objective.
Dr. Małgorzata (Margaret) Karpa holds the position of Senior Law Lecturer at the City Law School, City, University of London. She recently completed her PhD dissertation entitled “Children and Gambling: Attitudes, Behaviors, Harm Prevention, and Regulatory Responses.” Margaret’s postdoctoral research continues to focus on gambling, with a particular emphasis on the governance of wagering promotions, social gaming platforms, and age verification mechanisms. She welcomes correspondence at [email protected]
