EGBA members ‘highly compliant’ with minor protection rules

Traditional advertising channels across Europe are efficiently blocking the exposure of minors to gambling, according to the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA). 

The trade association put out a summary of an in-depth market assessment by the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA) from December 2024, which monitored 120 individual ads from Greece, Spain, Romania and the UK. 

Results were pitted against EGBA’s own advertising standards on content moderation, managing the exposure of minors, and safeguarding minors’ access to gambling content online. 

Spanning across TV, YouTube, websites, and social media channels, the analysis identified “high compliance” in TV and YouTube advertising, with key restrictions being regularly implemented. 

On the other hand, while social media advertising channels also exhibited overall strong control indicators, there were some additional areas of improvement identified by EASA. 

These included more consistent use of technical measures that limit the content based on a user’s age, as well as content notices that warn against forwarding advertising content to anyone under the minimum age for gambling in the relevant country.

Maarten Haijer, Secretary General, EGBA, commented: “This latest monitoring exercise demonstrates our members’ commitment to responsible advertising and minor protection.

“While we’re encouraged by our members’ high compliance rates across traditional media channels, we recognise there’s more work to be done in the social media space. 

“At EGBA, we’re dedicated to promoting the highest advertising standards and will continue to work with our members to strengthen compliance with our code across all platforms.”