Local health chiefs have backed a call from MPs urging the Government to do more to minimise children’s exposure to gambling advertising.
The Culture, Media and Sport Committee has called on the Government to take a more precautionary approach to advertising than that proposed in the gambling White Paper.
The committee welcomed the forthcoming voluntary withdrawal of gambling sponsorship from the front of Premier League players’ shirts but warned that this ‘will not significantly reduce the volume of betting adverts visible during a game.’
The report cites a recent study that found that front-of-shirt gambling branding consisted of just 7% of all that was visible during the 10 broadcast matches surveyed.
Another study has also found that nearly 7,000 gambling messages could be seen during six matches surveyed on the opening weekend of the season.
The committee recommended that the new gambling sponsorship code of conduct should include provision to reduce gambling adverts in stadia and require that a higher proportion of advertising is dedicated to safer gambling messaging.
Greg Fell, president of the Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH), commented: ‘We need to look at the role that society and the gambling industry is playing in causing gambling harm and take steps to limit it. Children are exposed on a daily basis to harmful gambling products and the only effective way to stop this exposure is by introducing tighter regulations.
‘Unless we take action to protect our children and young people, another generation will grow up to view gambling as a normal activity and society will continue to see – and feel – its damaging consequences.’
