Ban all gambling adverts, say more than half of Britons

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/apr/23/ban-all-gambling-adverts-say-more-than-half-of-britons

by PaulHoule • 3 years ago

136 72 3 years ago

alexb_• 3 years ago

If you ever watch sporting events from the 80s, you see Marlboro advertisements everywhere. Cigarette companies advertised in every single sport all the time in a gigantic marketing blitz - I think in the future we will see gambling ads now in the same way.

acadapter• 3 years ago

Cigarette brands ought to be forcibly renamed so they can't extract value from ads in historical media, from the time before the advertising ban.

ben_w• 3 years ago

While I'm in favour of remakes that update old works for modern audiences, I disagree with "forcibly" doing so.

The actual fix to the problem of tobacco corporations profiting from free advertising is to end those tobacco corporations.

last_responder• 3 years ago

no need to wait for the future. If you watch the news of the local variety at least in my area, most of the advertisements are for betting. Same with sports.

iso16312• 3 years ago

I've occasionally been in a pub when there's been sky sports showing a football match

Now, remember to watch sky sports you have to pay something like £50 a month.

They then saturate half the program with adverts of people gambling.

When I was a kid in the 80s and 90s, gambling was something James Bond did at Monte-Carlo with a vodka martini, or something my grandad did with the horses in a seedy shop next to the chippie. The only thing about gambling most people saw was some "pools" thing that was mentioned after the football results.

Now people spend £600 a year to be bombarded by messages telling them it's normal to get your phone out and put £10 on who will score the next goal when watching a football game. Maybe it is normal now, but it didn't used to be 20 years ago.

ZeroGravitas• 3 years ago

The future they mention is when you look at the old footage and get the same feeling you get when watching old videos of people annoyed that they won't be allowed to drive drunk or have to wear seatbelts, and think "how could they ever think that was normal?"

At the moment, those gambling ads are pervasive and, sadly, "normal".

expertentipp3• 3 years ago

To this day I don't believe we banned and mauled tobacco industry unanimously. Looking back from 1930s up to 2000s their ads were EVERYWHERE. Outdoors, events, magazines, sports, all genres of movies and TV series. It was a monstrous lobby.

pixl972• 3 years ago

The tobacco industry created a lot of modern advertising, especially a lot of the things we hate.

"Knowing Better - Torches of Freedom"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMOyNgLSX2g&t

Well worth watching this video (and many more on this channel).

jl6• 3 years ago

Marlboro continued to advertize in F1 even after a ban on tobacco advertizing, with that subliminal barcode logo. Which makes me think that we might see similar circumvention attempts should gambling advertizing be banned.

dmreedy• 3 years ago

Tobacco, in the form of Phillip Morris, is still actively advertising in the sport, albeit rather more indirectly now.

Ferrari counts among its sponsors a brand called Mission Winnow, which had prominent billboard space on the car through 2021.

Their website is a real treat: https://www.missionwinnow.com/

Mission Winnow is a change lab focused on reframing global conversations, sparking open debate, connecting people and supporting the realization of innovative ideas.

This one specifically always gets a chuckle out of me: https://www.missionwinnow.com/en/pmi/pragmatic-approaches/co...

For a while PMI wasn't even mentioned until you dug a few pages in. And then, still only ever "PMI" until a few layers further. Some countries like France were aware enough to ban the advertising for races hosted within their jurisdiction.

mannerheim• 3 years ago

I recall a game theory argument that the tobacco advertising ban was overall a boon for tobacco companies, since most of the effect of advertising was poaching other brands' customers rather than getting non-smokers to pick up the habit.

A ban on gambling ads might ironically similarly be in the interests of gambling companies.

seanhunter• 3 years ago

For people not in the UK, gambling adverts during live sporting events are absolutely insane. If you're not on the BBC[1] you're literally getting at least 2 or 3 gambling adverts every ad break if you're watching any sort of sport, and all the billboards, players shirts etc feature gambling companies. I'm actually in broadly favour of allowing a well-regulated gambling industry as it's a pastime that a lot of people enjoy and I think the government should mostly let people get on with things but the situation at present is completely crazy. For people who have a gambling addiction and want to quit it must be pretty much impossible to watch any sport.

[1] The BBC is publicly funded via a license fee that is compulsory if you have a television so it has no adverts

expertentipp3• 3 years ago

I hereby declare sports betting a honorary member of the poverty industry.

philg_jr• 3 years ago

This is basically the same situation in the US as well. It’s kinda sad that the sports industry across the board are all beholden to these companies now. Makes you really think about any close calls by the officials/referees. A LOT of money involved now, and it appears to be on a very sharp upward trajectory. Legalizing sports betting is one thing, but constantly throwing it in everyone’s faces is a whole different situation.

seanmcdirmid2• 3 years ago

I don’t watch sports these days so I wouldn’t notice, but I’m surprised gambling is now advertised in the states. It wasn’t like that in the 80s and 90s.

brvsft3• 3 years ago

The gambling ad style that bothers me the most is, e.g., YouTube channels doing paid advertising within a video. It's typically in the tone of, "Join me and my subscribers who are winning $X on Sports Betting Dot Com!"

I know the average person might not be so stupid to think they will automatically win when engaging in gambling, but the ads feel inherently dishonest and scummy nonetheless.

mikelward• 3 years ago

They also claim it's required if you stream or record any live broadcast to any other device, even if it's on Amazon or YouTube.

https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one

Gordonjcp3• 3 years ago

[1] The BBC is publicly funded via a licence fee that is compulsory if you have a television so it has no adverts

No, the license fee is compulsory if you have a TV that is connected up to receive off-air TV programmes.

No aerial? No licence.

pbhjpbhj3• 3 years ago

Aerial doesn't matter any more (for a number of years), for example, watching live (broadcast) TV on a computer still needs a license.

If the computer is a laptop, and you have a license at home, and you don't plug it in then you're covered away from home too, fwiw.

gambiting4• 3 years ago

>The BBC is publicly funded via a license fee that is compulsory if you have a television

No, it's only compulsory if you watch live TV broadcasts as they would be shown on TV. If you only watch Netflix and other streaming services(other than BBC iPlayer), or only use your TV for a games console/blu ray player then you explicitly don't need a TV licence. It takes 30 seconds to confirm you don't need the licence online and then you're exempt. I've not paid it for over 10 years at this point as we never watch actual TV in this house.

LandR• 3 years ago

Same here, haven't paid a Tv licence in years. Even told them I don't need one. Doesn't stop the idiots sending me threatning letters every month.

pbhjpbhj3• 3 years ago

so it has no adverts //

Not quite true. It has adverts on the Friday Night spot, and probably on Breakfast TV, and the One Show (evening talk show) -- they're just posed as "we chat to $actor who has a movie out now", or "$author has a book or now, here they are to talk to us". But they do disallow small businesses, and they only advertise their own media offerings (and no, they're not just 'trails' as they sometimes don't even tell you when it's on).

Maybe it's better overall, to I only see it a couple of times a year and it seems to adopt all the worst traits of commercial TV; even if there adverts are less intrusive.

lionkor• 3 years ago

The BBC is publicly funded via a license fee that is compulsory if you have a television so it has no adverts

Childsplay! In Germany you have to pay the equivalent fees regardless of whether you have any way to even access it, or want to, or care. It's okay, it's "only" like 18€ per month (!!!).

hydrok9• 3 years ago

It's now like this in Canada as well since they allowed sports betting.

hourago• 3 years ago

They did this in Sweden. I think that people was not even worried about gambling addiction, but just totally tired of the non-stop amount of loud flashy ads. Gambling ads usually are quite aggressive and TV, websites, bus stops, everywhere there were gambling ads.

It worked. Nowadays it is not easy to see this kind of ads anymore.

mumblemumble2• 3 years ago

I would support this. Just the other day I was having a conversation with my partner about how, recently, gambling advertising has really exploded all over Chicago, and it really is quite obnoxious.

I doubt a ban would happen, though. The worst offender for eyesore gambling advertisements is the state-run lottery.

MavisBacon• 3 years ago

There at least eventually should be regulation like we see with alcohol ads on TV, only very specific messaging is allowed here in the US.

lisasays• 3 years ago

Gambling ads usually are quite aggressive and TV, websites, bus stops, everywhere there were gambling ads.

As are ads for just about everything.

It isn't just the products they push. The ads themselves are toxic and are pervasively blighting our lives (and probably shortening our physical lifespans as well).

Seriously these should all be drastically curbed all across the public (physical) sphere, as has already happened in some places (e.g. São Paulo).

Some day, very far from now, when humanity finally realizes this -- we'll look at the saturation of advertisements in the 19th-21st centuries like we do on the haze of rampant air polution, pervasively contaminated water, horse manure (and dead horses clogging the streets) of bygone eras, today.

boeingUH60• 3 years ago

For the record, the owner of Bet365, the UK’s largest gambling company, has earned roughly £1.5 billion in dividends since 2016 and is the UK’s largest taxpayer.

https://www.businessinsider.com/betting-boss-takes-pay-cut-s...

expertentipp3• 3 years ago

Noice mate!

masfuerte• 3 years ago

To be fair, she takes the vast majority of her income as salary, not dividends. She doesn't seem to be engaged in the usual tax avoidance.

Clubber• 3 years ago

The US is so corrupt, we have state sponsored gambling: the lottery.

I remember when gambling casinos in the US was considered predatory and immoral and only a few states allowed it (Like Nevada and New Jersey), now it's opening up in many states because they want the money.

It's just another sign of the machine feeding itself at the expense of it's citizens.

seanmcdirmid2• 3 years ago

Casinos also seem to be such depressing places. It was one thing when they were a novelty that you needed to go to Nevada to experience, but now Indian casinos are common in our area and they just seem so sad.

brvsft3• 3 years ago

I used to go on a casino cruise routinely with my friends in college because the drinks were free, you'd just want to tip the servers. And you had to be visibly gambling, so we'd sit at nickel slots and play slowly. If you measured out how much you were spending and were diligent about it, it would still come out to less than buying liquor to drink at home.

Super depressing though. I sat down next to an old lady once and she snapped at me because the slot machine was "hers", as she planned to work three slot machines next to each other at the same time. One time, someone died of a heart attack on the ship (most of the people there were old).

chiefalchemist• 3 years ago

The irony? It's the citizens approving these projects. It's the citizens without money to spare lining up to lose their money as a form of "entertainment".

Worse tho are tobacco products. Known carcinogen. Addictive. And...the government allows the sales to persist and then taxes it. Why do the right thing when you can rationalize it as someone else's moral failure? Think of all the things banned during Covid (i.e., a respiratory virus). Cigarettes was not one of those things.

rayiner• 3 years ago

We should probably just ban advertising except black-and-white, pure text offers for sale ("Bananas on sale, $0.59/ea").

jjcm• 3 years ago

“Wallpaper, $10/m^2”

“Oil painting, 100cm x 50cm, $500”

Black on white text falls apart completely for any non-known object, or anything that has an aesthetic representation.

Animats2• 3 years ago

Fidelity Investments is running what are essentially gambling ads. They show people on skateboards "trading". As with gambling, retail traders, as a group, are losers. 78% to 95% lose, depending on whose statistics you use. This is pathetic. Just buying and holding most reasonable index funds does far, far better.

DanAtC2• 3 years ago

Line only goes up if someone loses.

Animats2• 3 years ago

For stocks, there's this thing called "production", which results in "profits". It's not zero sum, like cryptocurrencies. "Trading", though, means fees and spreads, which is how brokers make money and traders lose it.

Apreche• 3 years ago

This is the answer. Don't criminalize vice, that just leads to systems of oppression. Instead, do not allow anyone to advertise vice or anything that is harmful to society.

Its working well for banning tobacco ads. Just have to ban ads for gambling, alcohol, cars, etc.

gambiting4• 3 years ago

Why would you lump cars into it?

Symbiote3• 3 years ago

SUVs and similar cars are worse for society than normal cars -- increased fuel use, increased injuries and deaths from collisions.

Tyrek• 3 years ago

who gets to determine what things are vices?

yccs27• 3 years ago

The same people who currently decide what things are illegal or taxed higher.

dennis_jeeves1• 3 years ago

not you, for sure ;)

throwaway743• 3 years ago

In the US, we're bombarded with pharmaceutical ads... that absolutely needs to stop.

brvsft3• 3 years ago

Not totally on topic, but another form of 'advertising' I would like to see banned is branding on fast food packaging.

It bothers me when I see that someone has littered their bag of McDonald's (or whatever else) and this behavior has turned into an effective form of advertising in benefit of the chain because, seeing the litter, I am reminded of the chain's existence. Wondering if other countries or even locales have done something about this as opposed to the US.

pixl972• 3 years ago

Yep, I'd love food just to come in white generic boxes describing what it is and making no health claims whatsoever.

MandieD• 3 years ago

Let them continue branding their packaging - and charge them for picking up the litter when it gets left around by their customers.

ElongatedMusket• 3 years ago

That's a naive solution. One company could simply litter the city with a competitor's bags.

This is why those "WE BUY JUNK CARS" and "WE BUY HOUSES 4 CASH" signs are not punishable based on the owner's phone number. I could just as easily put YOUR number on one of those signs.

muh_gradle• 3 years ago

Sports betting has gotten out of control. I used to be an avid UFC and NBA fan, but the constant betting lines being pushed has really hurt sports.

zarzavat• 3 years ago

Just ban organized gambling. It’s a scourge on British society and a tax on the poor, ruining countless lives - not just of the victims but of their families as well. If any other industry had such a trail of destruction in its wake it would have been banned long ago.

I don’t much mind if people play poker with their mates, and the lottery seems tame enough. But the betting shops have to go.

spacebanana7• 3 years ago

The story about how gambling adverts were originally legalised in the UK is pretty interesting.

The gambling companies threatened to take the Blair government to the European Court of Competition on the grounds that it was unfair competition for National Lottery to permitted to advertise but not them [1]. The government took the threat seriously and then openly legalised gambling adverts.

[1] (Mentioned in talk by a member of the original Budd Report team which laid the path for the 2005 Gambling Act) https://youtu.be/t_isuKNKAbs?t=926

drcongo• 3 years ago

I got absolutely mauled on here a few months back for suggesting that gambling ads should be banned. Nice to know I'm not alone.

ilaksh• 3 years ago

The way that gambling has become so common and open in sports these days is bizarre. It wasn't like that at all before. Fantasy leagues have always been a thing. But constant reminders about betting on every sporting event during broadcasts seems a little dystopian.

11235813213455• 3 years ago

and all tourism (with planes) ads, all cars ads, all fast-food ads, all drinks ads, all furnitures ads, all smartphones ads, all consumerism things ads. Things you really need, don't need ads

CommanderData• 3 years ago

Mass gambling companies should be next. It's a scam and a wonder how it's allowed in society at all.

Ban all gambling adverts, say more than half of Britons

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