Gambling Commission tells operators to remove child-friendly content “immediately”
Commission sends four-page letter to firms, co-signed by advertising regulators and the RGA
The Gambling Commission has written to more than 450 online gambling operators warning them to “immediately” remove any content on their sites that may appeal to children.
The regulator sent the four-page letter out on Friday, co-signed by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP), the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Remote Gambling Association (RGA).
“We are writing to advise you to amend or remove immediately any ads on your website or in third party media that are likely to appeal particularly to people aged 17 or younger and, generally available to view,” the letter said.
The regulator said icons for games such as Piggy Payout, Fluffy Favourites, Pirate Princess and Jack and the Beanstalk were likely to need taking down.
“If gambling operators cannot or will not bring their advertising into line with the Code, the CAP Compliance team has various sanctions available to it and will consider applying these if we continue to see gambling ads that have particular appeal to under 18s,” the letter said.
The letter follows an article in the Sunday Times earlier this month that claimed operators were targeting children, and the paper yesterday hailed a “victory for the Sunday Times” on its News Review front page.
The RGA has denied all claims that the industry is targeting children.
The Gambling Commission has also asked the Responsible Gambling Strategy Board to examine the wider relationship between children and gambling to see if “further action may be necessary”.