The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), the industry standards body which represents betting shops, online betting and gaming, bingo and casinos, has agreed the voluntary removal of all gaming product advertising as a further part of its response to the COVID-19 lockdown, despite a drop in advertising spend and the volume of TV sport and casino advertisements dropping by up to 10 per cent.
On 2nd April, the APPG on Gambling related harm wrote to the Minister for Gambling, Nigel Huddleston MP, to ask if they will put in place tighter restrictions on online gambling during the COVID -19 crisis.
I welcome the decision by the Betting and Gaming Council for listening to the many voices, including the All-party parliamentary group on gambling related harm, who have called on the need for action on gambling and gaming advertising during the current COVID-19 outbreak. This is a clear recognition of the harm the advertising is doing and something we raised away back in early April.
This is another step in the right direction but we on the APPG will not let up and ensure there is a review of gambling advertising post the Coronavirus pandemic.
Betting & Gaming Council news release – https://bettingandgamingcouncil.com/news/gaming-advertising-removed
Ronnie Cowan MP 