Casinos and gambling websites could be allowed to advertise on
television and radio under a relaxation of rules. The new gambling code drafted by the
Advertising Standards Authority
(ASA) and the Gambling Commission will go out to public consultation
this summer.
The code will clarify a provision of the Gambling Act 2005 - to be
introduced next year - allowing for advertising rules to be relaxed.
The government says the new rules will be subject to "very tight
controls".
Betting services, bingo halls, gaming machines and football pools
will be covered by the new rules, as well as overseas companies
operating online gambling sites.
Lottery adverts
The current rules on advertising gambling are about 40 years old
and are seen by some industry observers as restrictive. In print adverts, casinos are limited to printing largely factual
information about their premises.
Television adverts for all betting, gaming and lotteries - except
for the National Lottery - are banned. The new code is expected to take effect by September 2007 when
the Gambling Act 2005, which allows for more casinos to open, comes
into effect.
Gambling Commission deputy chief executive Tom Kavanagh said the
code was needed to co-ordinate advertising rules for all sectors of
the gambling industry. The code would mean "both online gambling and casinos will have
more freedom in what they can say", he added.
"The thinking behind it is really that the current restrictions
are around 40 years old.
"They don't make a lot of sense in the current regulatory
environment - the idea that you just can't tell people anything
about the current availability of casinos."
The commission would make it a condition of operators' licences
to comply with the new advertising code, he added.
Stringent rules
A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said
casinos were currently "extremely heavily restricted in terms of
advertising".
"They will, in a limited way, be allowed to advertise more," he
added.
"But adverts will be subject to stringent rules about realism and
social responsibility, and controls on when, where and what gambling
adverts are allowed to do."
Online betting sites based overseas would be banned from
advertising in the UK "unless they meet the same high regulatory
high standards we have here", he said.
"This is a vital control to tackle the new challenge we face from
online gambling."
A spokesman for the Salvation Army said it was "concerned" about
the introduction of adverts "for hard forms of gambling into
mainstream television viewing".
"As more people are exposed to the adverts they become more
likely to go to casinos to gamble, and we fear this could lead to an
increase in problem gambling."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk/4938088.stm
Published: 2006/04/24 12:21:22 GMT
