Gamesys halts UK advertising during lockdown

Gamesys Group Plc has disclosed that it will be suspending all TV and radio advertising across the UK until COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, highlighting its concerns over targeting children and those vulnerable to problem gambling. 

Publishing its Q1 trading update for the three month period ending 31 March 2020, the company emphasised that it will be strengthening its responsible gambling measures, and increasing the monitoring of player time and spend across all its sites during the ongoing lockdown. 

The availability of responsible gambling measures, according to Gamesys Group, highlighted that there has been a 45% increase in players setting up deposit limits since the lockdown began.

The owner of brands such as Jackpotjoy, Virgin Games, Botemania revealed that  ‘strong growth in Asia and solid performance in the UK’ has helped increase revenues by 19% to £155.3 million. 

While the group recorded ‘healthy double-digit growth’ during Q1 for its US operations, it highlighted that revenues for Europe ‘would have been ahead but for the continued weakness in Sweden’.

Lee Fenton, Chief Executive Officer, Gamesys Group plc, commented: “During these unprecedented times our main priority is the health and wellbeing of employees and players and I am incredibly proud of the steps we have taken as a Group to ensure that we are best placed to do this. 

“Our business purpose of “crafting entertainment with care” has never been more relevant and we remain committed to providing a fun, safe and entertaining environment for our global customer base to enjoy.

“I am also delighted to be able to announce our support for Women’s Aid to help it provide such a vital service during these extraordinary times. Like all businesses across the UK and those within our sector, we will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation carefully and operate based on official Government guidelines until we are ready to return to a normal course of business.

“The Group is in a strong position given our operational control of a portfolio of well-renowned brands and complete ownership of our technology platforms. We are confident that the business is capable of meeting the challenges in the current environment and continuing to thrive in the long term.”