Baroness Twycross, the UK government’s Gambling Minister, has made an illegal gambling advertising crackdown priority number one in the government’s bid to preserve the licensed market.
Her comments come amid plans for crackdowns on gambling activities in other countries, most notably the Netherlands, as well as during a campaign against illegal gambling platforms by the UK government, Gambling Commission and licensed industry.
Addressing the House of Lords Liaison Committee yesterday, Twycross remarked that “we (the government) don’t have plans to legislate at this time on advertising” – giving British bookmakers some much-needed room to breathe.
The sector has been facing a huge amount of pressure in the form of a new tax regime of 40% on online gross gambling revenue (GGR), regulatory uncertainty as the recommendations of the Gambling Act review are rolled out, and continued political debate around advertising and the industry’s presence on community high-streets.
Advertising has been a hot button topic for many years.
While the Premier League is opting to scrap front-of-shirt sponsorship deals with betting companies from the 2026/27 season onwards, campaigners and MPs are keen to see further restrictions rolled out.
In Twycross’ view, more research is needed before the government commits to more legislative changes. She also reiterated the government’s goal to ensure gambling remains within the licensed sector and not in the illegal one, to guarantee both tax returns and corporate accountability.
“I’d like to clarify that it’s a regulated licensed sector we would like to see grow at the same time as we work across the piece, both with industry, but also with bodies such as ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) and some of the social media platforms,” she said.
The peer hammered home the government’s goal to “make sure that we don’t push people or see people pushed from the licensed, regulated, taxed sector, through to the illegal sector”.
Illegal gambling ads first port of call
As well as her role as Gambling Minister, Twycross also heads up the newly created Illegal Gambling Taskforce, which earlier this year started a consultation on whether to ban English sports clubs from signing sponsorship with unlicensed gambling companies.
This is particularly prevalent in the Premier League. Although the league is banning front-of-shirt deals, both licensed and unlicensed companies can still work with clubs via shirt sleeve, LED advertising board, training kit, and social media partnerships, among others.
Regulated gambling companies like Entain, which has been particularly vocal about this topic in recent months, would like to see unlicensed companies banned from signing these deals, though advocates for gambling reform like Lord Foster of Bath would like to see all companies excluded – whether licensed or not.
“What can we do to stop people going to the illegal market?” Twycross continued. “We think that on advertising there is some correlation … increased exposure to advertising can have an impact on participation.
“However, just going back to the point I made earlier about the need for evidence-based policy making, it’s currently hard, despite the plethora of research, to establish a very clear causal link which suggests that advertising does lead to increased levels of gambling-related harm.”
For the regulated industry, it will be refreshing to hear that the government is – at least for now – focused on clamping down only on illegal gambling advertising, and not on their own marketing capabilities.
The mentions of social media will also be welcomed. Major operators, again particularly Entain, have been pointing to the proliferation of unlicensed gambling advertising on social media via influencers and tipster platforms, a frustration shared by the Gambling Commission itself.
Still though, the licensed sector should not expect itself to escape scrutiny. In a separate Lords hearing yesterday, Grainne Hurst, Chief Executive Officer of the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) trade body, was quizzed over allegations that some gaming suppliers are working with both legal and illegal operators – allegations that SBC News was unable to substantiate.
