BGC Will Suspend All Ads for At Least Six Weeks

By John Isaac,
Editor at online-gambling.com

John Isaac Editor at online-gambling.com

John Isaac is an editor with many years of experience in the gambling industry. He writes expert articles on card games like blackjack and poker. In addition, he is also well aware of the US gambling laws and the Indian and Dutch gambling markets. You can rely on verified information and insightful details.

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Last updated: May 10, 2020

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) announced that corporations had mutually decided to suspend all advertising for at least six weeks. The step comes in the wake of the accusations that the industry abuses people at home during the lockdown. TV and radio commercial slots will be donated to charity organizations, removed, or at least they will be replaced with safer gambling messages.

Watching TV© StockSnap/Pixabay

The British representative of the gambling industry, BGC, said that the move would erase half of all TV and radio ads. According to them, the operators will give their best efforts to implement this change as rapidly as possible. The process should be finished by May 7.

“We are determined to do everything we can to protect customers potentially at risk during this lockdown period and beyond. I hope now that other major gambling operators like the National Lottery follow our lead,” stated the chief executive of BGC, Michael Dugher.

He also mentioned that anti-gambling prohibitionists who only want to take the leads will always make alarmist noise as there was no online gambling boom, and gambling itself was not a live sport on TV and high-street betting shops and casinos were closed.

The BGC stated its members accounted for nearly half of all gambling on television and radio ads and called on those within this field – including the Camelot National Lottery Operator – also to enforce prohibitions.

Moral Could Is Required From Gambling

Considering that gambling has increased during a lockdown, at the beginning of April the cross-party group signed a letter calling for curbs and a moratorium on advertising.

Carolyn Harris, chair of the all-party -related damage parliamentary group, said from the first day of lockdown a ban on all advertising would have been enforced to protect disabled and homeless addicts. She explained that this is a clear admission of the profound impact of gambling advertising on the level of problem gambling in the country.

Although she expressed her appreciation of the decision that it was made about gambling advertisement, she said that she wished it could have had been made six weeks before day one of the

lockdown as some harm is already done. What’s more, she suggested that this advertisement restriction should apply to every channel during the pandemic of COVID 19.

Director of the National Problem Gambling Clinic, Dr. Henrietta Bowden-James, has stated that due to the current situation and uncertainty people are facing right now, moral code is required from the gambling industry.

Online Gambling Has Increased During the Lockdown

Recently the gambling industry in the UK went through many new restrictions such as this one. Credit cards were banned for gambling purposes and the gambling companies committed themselves to promote safe and responsible gambling to their customers. In addition, they also should report any suspicious behavior of their customers such as spending too much money and time on gambling activities.

Due to the new coronavirus COVID 19 that first appeared in China and then became a worldwide pandemic, people were “forced” to stay at home which is why online gambling has significantly increased during a lockdown.