UK to ban gambling adverts featuring footballers & celebrities

As part of plans to safeguard young people and unprotected audiences, the Committee for Advertising Practice (CAP) in the United Kingdom will bring in new rules and regulations for gambling adverts.

The new guidelines will “positively impact gambling promoters looking to promote their various companies using famous sportspeople and celebrities as well as other individuals such as social media influencers, who are of strong appeal to those under-18,” CAP stated.  

Ads for betting sites and online casinos will, subsequently, not be allowed to use high-profile footballers and those with a sizeable following from people under 18 on social media platforms, as well as all sportspeople that are popular with under-18s.

Ads will also be stopped from presenting references to video-gaming content and gameplay, likewise stars from reality shows that are trending among under-18s.

CAP stated that “our gambling advertising rules have often focused a singular emphasis on protecting young and unprotected people and we will continue to analyze our rules, regulations, and guidelines to ensure they are always effective”.

The new CAP rules will take effect on October 1, 2022, in the United Kingdom.

“The period of gambling ads including sports stars, video game pictures, and other content of strong appeal to under-18s are numbered,” said CAP’s Director of Advertising Policy and Practice, Shahriar Coupal.

“By bringing an end to these practices, our new rules ushers in a new dispensation for gambling ads, more tailored to the adult audience they can focus and more befitting of the age-restricted products they’re promoting.”

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