More on the UK's Advertising Limitations
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has distinctly different politics concerning the
online casino gambling, internet betting, and lottery industries than the
previous PM Tony Blair. Many in the gambling industries were taken aback by
Brown’s immediate and successful attempts to squash policies and planned
expansions in the land-based gambling industry so soon into office. The other
industries have taken note of this new governments stance on online casinos and
other forms of internet gambling and are quickly jumping into plans to
voluntarily make the industries more in line with what the parliament is looking
for in gambling restrictions.
Specifically in the news recently were the concerns in the Department of
Culture, Media, and Sports. Secretary of Culture, Media, and Sports, James
Purnell, has spoke out against the previous leniencies regarding online casino
and betting advertising in the UK – specifically on radio, television, and
children’s sports paraphernalia. Though man thought that Purnell would out right
impose restrictions on the gambling industry, instead the companies involved and
several watchdog organizations took part in the discussions and came up with a
set of guidelines that were acceptable for all involved – the online casinos and
the government.
The specifications on the new socially responsible restrictions include a 9:00
pm watershed – before that now sportsbetting companies or gambling related
services can advertise on radio or television. To the credit of the groups
involved in drafting the new restrictions, sports-betting companies are allowed
advertisements during specific sporting events – namely the Premiership games.
In addition to these restrictions, Purnell was concerned with merchandising for
children, including replica football hero shirts. A source for The Observer
notes about Purnell, “he also feels strongly that the idea of children seeing
gambling adverts or being able to wear football shirts with gambling logos is
wrong."
These restrictions bring in a era of what is shaping up to be truly socially
responsible online casino and internet betting companies. The UK’s 2005 Gambling
Act called for adjustments to the ways that online gambling companies operated
and interfaced with players, and on a whole the industry has responded with
proactive programs to target many of the major concerns that online casino
gambling brings: addictive gambling and underage gamblers.
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