The UK Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) is an organization that seems to live by the rule, “If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will.” That’s likely why they’ve been so keen touting the results of an analysis done by Enders Analysis that found their “whistle to whistle” ban on gambling advertisements during sporting events was a rousing success.
According to the report, the number of gambling ads seen by children has dropped a whopping 97 percent since the ban took effect in August of 2019. Drilling down, the study also found that the number of gaming ads that children are exposed to before 9 p.m. has dropped by a very impressive 78 percent during that same period.
All of this is great news for the BGC since the organization exists solely for the purpose of self-regulation. That is to say, the BGC is very interested in telling the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) that the gaming industry is more than capable of instituting advertising controls and that the UKGC doesn’t even have to worry about that kind of thing.
In a statement reported on by SBC News, Michael Dugher, chief executive of the Betting and Gaming Council described the success of the rules saying, “The BGC was set up to improve standards in our industry. The success of the whistle to whistle ban is a clear example of that commitment and I’m very pleased at how effective it has been during its first year in operation. In particular, it’s encouraging to see that it has effectively eliminated children’s ability to view betting adverts during live televised sport.”
Their efforts at self-regulation are to be lauded and will likely serve as a template for the rest of the UK and European-facing gaming industry.