The Betting and Gaming Council members represent some of the biggest name in the gambling industry, including Playtech, Entain brands like Ladbrokes and Foxy, Flutter brands like Sky Betting and Gaming and Rank brands like Mecca Bingo. The rules the BGC has members adhere to mean that most of the UK gambling market has added protections over and above those provided by the UK Gambling Commission.
In addition to basic player protections and safer gambling regulations, the BGC is very strong on the protection from gambling harm of under 18s. This week the organisation has introduced new measures relating to digital media advertising that is accessible to under-18s.
This new improvement to industry standards becomes live on 1st December 2023.
- The 20% rule ensuring safer gambling messaging represents at least a fifth of TV and radio advertising is extended to digital media advertising
- Current rules that all sponsored or paid for social media adverts must be targeted at those aged 25 and over unless the website proves its adverts can be precisely targeted at over 18s, will be extended to all digital media platforms who provide an appropriate age filter.
BGC collaborated with Bacta, the Bingo Association and the Lotteries Council to develop the new rules to ensure every aspect of the industry is involved.
BGC members are tasked to take a zero-tolerance approach to betting by children. The Gambling Commission’s ‘Young People and Gambling Report’ (2022) revealed that the most popular forms of betting by children are arcade games like penny pusher and claw grab machines (22 per cent) bets between friends (15 per cent), playing cards for money (5 per cent) and fruit machines (3 per cent) – not with ‘hard-core’ gambling sites like those operated by BGC members.
The good news is that the same report showed gambling by children (11-16 years) has fallen significantly since 2011. It was at 23 per cent of children participating in some form of gambling on a past-week basis to 7 per cent in 2022.
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