Industry must be vigilant ahead of advertising review, says RGA chief
Clive Hawkswood anticipates a "hot" pre-election climate for gambling firms and warns the sector to stay ahead of the game
Online gambling firms must ensure their marketing strategies stay “ahead of the game” and recognise the threat of politically-driven restrictions in the run up to the next general election, RGA chief executive Clive Hawkswood warned.
Speaking to eGaming Review this morning, Hawkswood warned of a “hot” pre-election climate and said that gambling could become an increasingly soft target for policy makers, especially with the UK’s next general election fast approaching in May 2015.
“We must be one of the only industries where the more successful we are, the more nervous it seems to make politicians,” Hawkswood said.
The RGA recently submitted its review of the industry’s advertising code to the UK government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport, with additional reviews by trade bodies the Advertising Standards Authority and Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice expected to be submitted by November this year.
While the findings of the review have yet to be disclosed, a number of measures are understood to be under discussion including stricter regulations over what can be used to advertise gambling on television and a possible ban on advertising before the UK watershed of 9pm.
And Hawkswood said it is up to operators to avoid any negative attention before the government publishes its findings.
“It is frustrating that so much of what is done, either collectively or by individual companies, is not sufficiently acknowledged, but there is nothing to be gained from bemoaning the unfairness of that,” he said.
“There are no easy solutions, but we need to keep identifying and presenting measures that will put us ahead of the game and which, in turn, will provide some comfort to opinion formers or at least will weaken any objections they might have towards us,” he added.
Hawkswood confirmed that a number of sector-specific initiatives are currently under consideration by the main trade associations, with further detail expected to be revealed in the coming months.