UK gambling operators discuss voluntary advertising limits

Life is not easy these days for big name UK gambling operators like William Hill and 888 Holdings. In the next six months alone they’re facing both a major tax increase and severe new limits on fixed odds betting terminal (FOBTs) wagers.
On top of that, top industry leaders acknowledge that operators need to self-impose some pretty serious limits on their advertising methods and frequency before UK lawmakers do it for them. To that end, board members of the internet gambling trade group, the Remote Gaming Association (RGA), met this week to discuss a series of voluntary curbs on gambling advertising across the country.
Some of the proposed curbs include the imposition of a cap of one gambling advertisement per commercial break; a total ban on in-play wager advertising; and a total ban on television advertising of any kind before 9 p.m., according to a report on Sky News.
The severity of these self-imposed curbs is a reflection of hardening public views of the gambling industry as a whole across the UK. (Though the whole package could have been lifted straight out of the head of the most ardent anti-gambling activist in New South Wales, Australia.) They also reflect the serious fear among operators that if they don’t place some meaningful curbs on their advertising habits themselves, someone else will likely do it for them.
If imposed, the new advertising limits would still be voluntary, but it’s unlikely that any credible gambling operator wouldn’t abide by them, and black market sites aren’t likely to follow rules of any kind anyways. As of this writing, no formal announcements or proposals have been made, but something is likely forthcoming.