Bookmaking giants form self-regulatory advertising body
Ladbrokes, William Hill, Coral and Paddy Power unite to usher in a "new era of self-governance" for the gambling industry
Four of the UK’s largest bookmakers have this morning united to form a self-regulatory body which promises to clamp down on irresponsible advertising and “name and shame” offending bookmakers.
William Hill, Ladbrokes, Paddy Power and Gala Coral announced the formation of the Senet Group by taking out one-page advertisements in UK national newspapers and set out a list of initiatives all parties agreed to undertake in order to improve gambling’s public image.
From 1 October all four operators will adhere to a pre-watershed advertising ban on sign-up offers involving the offer of free money or bets while a new responsible gambling advertising campaign will start next year.
All TV advertising is to carry more prominent responsible gambling messages and the Senet Group, which is to be chaired by an independent standards commissioner, will have the power to publicly name and issue fines to operators found to be flouting the regulations.
William Hill chief executive James Henderson said the launch of the Senet Group “sets a benchmark by which we and the betting industry can be judged”, while Paddy Power’s Patrick Kennedy said placing more emphasis on responsible gambling was “simply the right thing to do”.
“Actions speak louder than words,” said Carl Leaver, group CEO at Gala Coral. “That’s why the Senet Group will be given the independence, budget and purpose to hold the betting industry to account.”
Speaking to eGaming Review this morning, a Ladbrokes spokesperson said the announcement was the “beginning of a new era of self-governance for the industry”.
“We have held initial discussions with a number of other retail and online operators and we are urging others to join us to help shape the future,” he added.
A Betfred spokesperson told eGR it was currently in discussions about joining the group while bet365 is also thought to have received an invitation.
The UK Labour Party responded by calling the move, which also included a number of retail-focused measures, a “welcome step” but said it must cover the whole industry if it is to work.
“The new watchdog must be completely independent of any influence from within the industry and be free to carry out effective monitoring,” Clive Efford, Labour shadow sports minister, said.
The announcement follows a string of warnings to the gambling industry regarding advertising with politicians keen to clamp down on a part of the industry some have deemed to be spiralling out of control.
In April this year UK advertising watchdogs the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Advertising Standards Authority launched a review of gambling advertising, with the review’s findings to be published later this year.
And last month Clive Hawkswood, chief executive of the RGA, said gambling firms must ensure their marketing strategies stay “ahead of the game” in preparation for a “hot” pre-election climate.