Let’s face it. The UK generates a lot of the world’s gambling revenue, and of course this is worrying for MPs. There are specific measures that MPs would like to take, this includes the overall ban of commercials both on TV and online promoting gambling. Albeit gambling is legal, the specific topics to consider is: Is all this gambling even affordable to the gambler? Is the player left with disposable income at the end of the month.
THe Guardian reported that a group of Labour, Conservative and also Scottish MPs have teamed up, and gathered a full year or data to support their claims that casino promotions are indeed generating most of the gambling revenue. The data includes player statistics, online promotions, VIP schemes and slot offers. In other words, MPs feel that these online casino promotions are meddling with people’s lives. In a harmful way of course.
When the Covid Pandemic hit Europe hard, big names such as Paddy Power, Betfair, Coral and Bet365 agreed to pull all the ads from the TV and Radio. The agreement was signed for a total of 6 weeks that will end on June 18th, 2020. Many people lost their jobs, and adding gambling to the mix could result in catastrophic repercussions. If is ok for someone who is employed to fork out a percentage of their pay to enjoy in the gambling industry, but if people gamble when they are out of work, or during redundancy, this could result in more people struggling financially, more people on the dole, and potentially more people losing their homes and ending up on the streets. This is the worst case scenario that we can think of, but let’s all agree that this is a possibility. The logic of the MPs is that, let’s try to eliminate the problem before it even starts, shall we?
If we look at the House of Commons, the place where the MPs meet and discuss issues, it is almost impossible to see MPs of various political parties agree on matters. In the case of gambling, they all have agreed that a workforce has to be set up, and a plan would need to be placed in motion to kick start the campaign against advertising gambling. We have already witnessed the UKGC advising that you cannot invite a player to play and lure them in. The player needs to make an informed decision, and should not be swayed towards gambling. The player protection and responsible gambling has always been a major topic of focus for both the United Kingdom Gamblng Commission and also online casinos. It is no big secret that the UKGC has imposed some big fines in the past to casinos who do not follow regulations and guidelines. And when it comes to imposing any future fines and also withdrawing gambling licenses if need be, the authority will not hold back.
Both gambling sites and also media marketing companies have sometimes taken a stand and voluntarily pulled out their marketing campaigns to practise responsability. This has seen gambling companies limit the advertising during football events prior to 9pm. Did this work? It most certainly did.
What will the future hold for casino promotions? Well your maximum stake when spinning your favourite slot machine could be capped at 2 British Pounds. You will most probably see less advertising here and there, with the potential of no advertising in the near future. Will the gambler be aware of promos? Definitely! Infact online casinos always advise their esteemed players to keep their notifications on, this way, the player can be contacted via phone, text or email about promotions.
MPs have worked hard to safeguard the UK families, and let’s be frank here, there are other outlets that the player can enjoy to read about promos and offers. TV and online gambling ads might be restricted, but the player will always find a way to enjoy some of the best online casino promos.