The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling-related Harm (APPG) has upped its campaign against exposure to betting by writing to two of the biggest names in commercial television in the UK, ITV and Channel 5, in a bid to get them to consider suspending advertisements from betting companies on daytime television.
Speaking about its rationale for the decision, the APPG stated:
“Gambling companies are sponsoring programmes which seek to glamorise gambling with the aim of targeting women and young people and encouraging them to gamble.”
“We are very concerned that television companies are promoting gambling, we have ourselves seen first-hand the harm and devastation that gambling can cause to young people’s lives, families and communities.”
One example used by the group was that the popular Channel 5 soap opera, Neighbours, is sponsored by Gala Bingo.
They also argued that due to the impact of the Coronavirus and the lockdowns that have been put in place across society, that younger children are more likely to come across these gambling advertisements at home, than when they would have been in school and that this could encourage underage people to gamble.
A panel of 52 experts had also backed the calls for action.
Successful Campaigns
The APPG has run a number of successful campaigns against aspects of the betting industry in recent times.
The cross-party group, headed up by Labour MP Carolyn Harris, has successfully lobbied for it now to be against the law to use credit cards to fund betting accounts in the United Kingdom.
They have also been successful in reducing how much can be spent on Fixed Odds betting terminals, which was much to the chagrin of a number of high street bookmakers who complained that the terminals offered they a key revenue source.
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