Gambling Ads Targeted at Children on the Rise
During the second three months of 2020, the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) uncovered that four gambling firms had put advertisements on online platforms that were especially captivating to minors.
Seventy distinct advertisements from these four unidentified businesses were discovered on eight websites, as part of the advertising regulator’s most recent online monitoring effort to spot and address age-restricted promotions appearing on children’s media.
This operation was part of a year-long initiative by the ASA, which is keeping an eye on over 50 websites and YouTube channels that have a substantial underage audience. Once advertisements are located, the ASA contacts the advertisers to ensure the promotions are brought up to date and cautions them to avoid similar breaches in the future.
The project concentrates on advertising for gambling, alcoholic beverages, electronic cigarettes and tobacco, weight loss and weight management products, and food and drinks classified as high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS).
The United Kingdom’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has strict regulations against businesses promoting specific goods to individuals under the age of eighteen.
The ASA has identified one hundred and fifty-nine instances of age-restricted advertisements being displayed to minors across thirty-four websites and five YouTube channels. This was carried out by thirty-five distinct advertisers.
The most prevalent type of advertisement shown to children was for high-fat, high-sugar, and high-salt (HFSS) goods. Twenty-nine advertisers placed seventy-eight different ads for these products on twenty-four websites and five YouTube channels. The second most frequent type of advertisement was for gambling, followed by ten ads for the same brand of alcohol on the same website, and one ad for an electronic cigarette, also on the same website.
“The ASA is actively utilizing technology to monitor online advertising. We aim to establish a culture of zero tolerance for age-restricted advertisements appearing on websites intended for children,” stated Guy Parker, the ASA’s Chief Executive. “We anticipate that advertisers and their partners will use the advanced tools at their disposal to target advertisements responsibly.”
“This is merely one aspect of a broader range of initiatives we are undertaking to ensure children are protected online. We will be announcing further progress in this area in the months to come.”
The ASA has been employing virtual identities that mimic the online browsing habits of children to monitor the number of age-restricted advertisements being displayed to them since last year. Their initial findings, published in April 2019, revealed that advertisements from forty-three gambling operators were being shown to their virtual identities.
In five instances, five were discovered to have broken gambling advertising regulations aimed at young people. The companies involved accepted their errors and, in some cases, attributed the blame to third-party marketing associates.
This year, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) issued cautions to operators regarding esports betting promotions, stating that they could be particularly appealing to youngsters.
However, it stated that on television, the percentage of minors exposed to gambling advertisements continues to decrease. In 2019, industry promotional advertisements made up less than 2% of all advertisements. The ASA attributed this partly to changes in media consumption habits, with young people shifting to online websites and YouTube channels.
Meanwhile, gambling operators are intensifying their efforts to reduce underage exposure to advertising. The Gambling Commission’s working group is aiming to halt social media and pay-per-click advertisements targeting individuals under the age of 25.
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