ASA's ban on role models in gambling arrive on UK market

The United Kingdom now officially has tougher rules on gambling advertisements and lottery promotions which are all geared toward protecting U-18 individuals. The new rules came into effect on October 1 over the weekend and they focus on a clear-cut commitment by the Committee of Advertising Practice to protect vulnerable individuals and audiences, the regulators said in an official statement.

ASA is already accepting complaints in cases where consumers have noticed that role models are being used to promote a product from a gambling or lottery company. The "role model" idea is not exactly new. In fact, the Netherlands was quicker to enact the same regulations, with the Dutch Gaming Authority arguing that using the likeness and imagery of influencers and people who are recognizable to young people was against the rules of its advertising code.

ASA is similarly moving forward to prohibit the use of images and likenesses, themes, and characters, that have a "strong appeal" to U-18 individuals. The measures put forward by ASA reflect the ones introduced by Dutch authorities.

They focus on restricting the use of famous sports people and celebrities, social media stars, and other recognizable people for the purposes of promoting gambling products which could inadvertently lead to exposing young audiences to gambling products. ASA specifically enumerated the cases where gambling companies and lotteries may not use such people and who those people are.

Those include top-flight footballers, individuals who are known to be popular with U-18s, video game content and references that are clearly popular with those groups, and references from popular TV shows, such as Love Island. CAP enacted these measures following consultation and additional research work by GambleAware, an NGO that focuses on helping guide policies in the gambling industry to the benefit of consumers.

Regulatory changes are forthcoming in the United Kingdom, and they are likely to have an even more sweeping effect on current advertising rules. In fact, some suspect that sports gambling partnerships may be suspended completely in the country. The Premier League has already flirted with the idea of cutting these partnerships, but ultimately stopped itself short feeling that the government lost momentum with its Gambling Act review.

The Netherlands passed its ban back on June 30, and it has so far been a success. How the UK handles its own restriction remains to be seen, but the consensus is that companies will seek to be 100% compliant.

Image credit: Unsplash.com