Sky Voluntarily Restricts Gambling Ads

Executives at UK pay television giant Sky are hoping to stay a step ahead of ad regulators by voluntarily imposing limits on the number of gambling ads they accept for airing. It’s a bold move that illustrates exactly how nervous UK operators, and the businesses they do business with, are about potential regulatory changes aimed at curbing problem gambling and generally setting a lower profile for the gaming industry on UK airwaves.
According to a report from the UK Telegraph titled, Sky limits TV gambling adverts to one per break amid campaign for pre-watershed ban, Sky TV is readying the self-imposed restrictions to take place at the beginning of UK football season in August. As the headline indicates, gambling advertising will be restricted to one ad per commercial break. Under current policies, the network allows as many as four gambling ads per break.
The new policy is designed to both stave off potentially harsher, mandatory limits from lawmakers but are also a reaction to viewer complaints. Sky CEO Steven van Rooyen told the Telegraph, “Our customers are worried about gambling ads on TV – and we understand their concerns. That’s why we’ve committed to limiting the amount of gambling ads on Sky and better protecting those vulnerable to problem gambling.”
Sky plans to take its self-imposed gambling restrictions one step further with plans to implement technology that allows viewer to block gambling ads on their own. This technology is not currently available to Sky subscribers.
Sky’s plans were lauded by anti-gambling activists who have been calling for these sorts of limits for quite a while.