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A sieve that does hold a little water – gambling advertising and protection of the vulnerable in the UK

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 July 2018

Julia Hörnle*
Affiliation:
Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
Malgorzata A Carran
Affiliation:
City Law School, City University of London, London, UK
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]

Abstract

The internet, social media and online profiling have fundamentally changed advertising, and the regulation of gambling advertising has not yet managed to address the challenges and opportunities arising from this technological shift. Furthermore, the regulation of gambling does not take into account sufficiently the needs of children and vulnerable persons. We review the empirical research on the impact of gambling advertising and show how regulatory standards firmly adhere to the transmission theory of communication that prioritises the communicative intent of the advertiser over how the advertising message is received by or impacts on vulnerable people. This article reviews the law on gambling advertising and argues that for gambling, the restrictions imposed by the largely co-regulatory system only have limited effect. We compare the regulation of gambling advertising, by way of analogy, to a sieve that holds only a little water, and make recommendations for legal reform.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Society of Legal Scholars 2018 

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References

1 As set out in the Gambling Act 2005, s 1(c) ‘protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling’.

2 Problem gambling can be defined as gambling addiction or compulsive gambling, which has long-lasting negative impacts on the individual concerned and his social relationships. The precise definition of what constitutes problem gambling, and the academic discussion of what constitutes problem gambling, are outside the scope of this paper.

3 A controversial current issue: DCMS ‘Call for evidence review of gaming machines and social responsibility measures’, Question 7 (24 October 2016) ‘Is there any evidence on whether existing rules on gambling advertising are appropriate to protect children and vulnerable people from the possible harmful impact of gambling advertising?’ and DCMS ‘Consultation on proposals for changes to gaming machines and social responsibility measures (October 2017), available at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/655969/Consultation_on_proposals_for_changes_to_Gaming_Machines_and_Social_Responsibility_Measures.pdf.

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9 £74 million (2010) to £141 million (2013).

10 A higher spend = more advertising (assuming the increase in spent is not just related to an increase in price).

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15 Planzer and Wardle, above n 12, at 5–6: ‘Several studies showed that adolescents are particularly receptive to (positive and negative) messages and images transported in advertising and counter-advertising’. These authors argued that this can lead to unbalanced views between the positive aspects and the risks of gambling as well as reinforcement of erroneous perceptions of gambling (eg the more I gamble the better my chances); see also P Binde ‘Gambling advertising: a critical research review’ (Responsible Gambling Trust, 2014) at 21.

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20 Discussed below.

21 ASA ‘Gambling advertising – review of the ASA's application of the UK advertising codes’ (October 2014) pp 18–19.

22 ASA Review, ibid, pp 18–19.

23 Binde, above n 15, at 14.

24 Binde, above n 15, at 14–15.

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27 ‘British gambling prevalence survey’, above n 14, at 75.

28 Health Survey for England 2012, vol 1, ch 7 ‘Gambling behaviour’, published 18 December 2013.

29 Further discussed below, see text fn 122 and research cited there.

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31 Blinn-Pyke, Worthy and Jonkman, above n 30.

32 Monaghan, Derevensky and Sklar, above n 19, at 254.

33 ASA ‘UK code of non-broadcast advertising, sales promotion and direct marketing’ (12th edn, 2010), available at http://www.cap.org.uk/Advertising-Codes.aspx.

34 ASA ‘UK code of broadcast advertising’ (1st edn, 2010), available at http://www.cap.org.uk/Advertising-Codes.aspx.

35 IGRG ‘Gambling industry code for socially responsible advertising’ (3rd edn, October 2017), available at https://www.rga.eu.com/wp-content/uploads/Gambling-Industry-Code-for-Socially-Responsible-Advertising-3rd-Edition-October-2017.pdf (The Industry Code).

36 Recommendation 2014/478/EU on Principles for the Protection of Consumers and Players of Online Gambling Services, 14 July 2014, [2014] OJ L 214/40.

37 Communications Act 2003, s 1, Sch 1.

39 The Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations 1988, which were replaced (in respect of consumers) by the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, SI 2008/1277.

40 In the sense that the ASA/CAP system of self-regulation is seen as the primary enforcement mechanism, supplemented by legal regulation and referrals.

41 Acknowledged in the Enterprise Act 2002, Explanatory Notes, para 526.

42 See also the case of R v Advertising Standards Authority Ltd [2001] EMLR 22, where the Administrative Court held that the advertising regulation set up by CAP/ASA system satisfies the ‘prescribed by law’ requirement of the European Convention on Human Rights, Art 10, and that the decisions are subject to judicial review.

43 Industry Code, above n 35.

44 Reed Smith ‘Advertising compliance client alert’ (June 2010).

45 LCCP (2018) OCP 5.1.6 and 5.1.9.

46 GA 2005, ss 327, 252.

47 GA 2005, ss 332, 333 as amended by Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014, ss 4, 5.

48 GA 2005, s 330.

49 Discussed below.

51 GA 2005, s 327.

52 Ibid.

53 Ibid.

54 Ibid; Gambling Commission ‘Sponsorship of British sports clubs by gambling operators’ (November 2014), available at http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/pdf/sponsorship-of-British-sporting-clubs-by-gambling-operators.pdf.

55 GA 2005, s 327(1)(c).

56 CAP Code, II (K) and (P); BCAP (Code 2.1), maintaining separation between editorial and programme content.

57 BCAP Code, Introduction.

58 However as to sponsorship credits in broadcasting these are regulated as content in the Broadcasting Code, see Ofcom Broadcasting Code (April 2017) Section 9 ‘Commercial references in TV programming’, available at https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/100103/broadcast-code-april-2017.pdf.

59 CAP Code, Intro I (h).

60 GA 2005, s 45.

61 Recommendation 2014/478/EU, above n 36, Recital 11.

62 CAP/BCAP ‘Help note guidance on the rules for gambling advertising’ 4.

63 Barnes, above n 30; Wareham, J and Potenza, MPathological gambling and substance use disorders’ (2010) 36(5) American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse 242CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed; Grant, JE and Chamberlain, SEGambling disorder and its relationship with substance use disorders: implications for nosological revisions and treatment’ (2015) 24(2) American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse 126Google ScholarPubMed; Abdollahnejad, R, Delfabbro, P and Denson, LPsychiatric co-morbidity in problem and pathological gamblers: Investigating the confounding influence of alcohol use disorder’ (2014) 39 Addictive Behaviors 566CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed; Abbott, MA and Volberg, RA Frequent Gamblers and Problem Gamblers in New Zealand: Report on Phase 2 of the National Survey (Wellington: Department of Internal Affairs, 1992)Google Scholar; DN Crockford and N el-Guebaly ‘Psychiatric comorbidity in pathological gambling: A critical review’ (1998) Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 43; Feigelman, W, Wallisch, LS and Lesieur, HRProblem gamblers, problem substance users, and dual-problem individuals: an epidemiological study’(1998) 88 American Journal of Public Health 467CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

64 Heverley, RZoning in the internet age’ (2003) 26 Zoning and Planning Law Report 1Google Scholar; Lessig, L and Resnick, PZoning speech on the internet: a legal and technical model’ (1999) 98 Michigan Law Review 395 at 395–396CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

65 Lotteries, see s 56.

66 GA 2005, s 46(3).

67 GA 2005, s 330(6).

68 See below n 114.

69 Only a criminal case before the courts could bring clarity as to the mens rea and defences contained in the Act. The wording of Rule 16.3.13 and that of s 46 are different.

70 See below.

71 GA 2005, s 46(5)(b).

72 Recommendation 2014/478/EU, above n 36, para 12.

73 Industry Code, above n 35, para 39.

74 Industry Code, above n 35, para 41.

75 Recommendation 2014/478/EU, above n 36, para 12.

77 See also DCMS ‘Call for evidence review of gaming machines and social responsibility measures’ Question 7 (24 October 2016) and ‘Gambling adverts face ban from daytime TV’ (The Times, 7 October 2016) pp 1, 4.

78 In force 2014.

79 Amendment 3 moved by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch Hansard HL Deb, vol 752, 4 March 2014.

80 Industry Code, above n 35.

81 Industry Code, above n 35, para 31.

82 Industry Code, above n 35, para 31.

83 Industry Code, above n 35, para 33.

84 Industry Code, above n 35, para 34.

85 Industry Code, above n 35, para 33.

86 S Livingstone et al ‘Risks and safety on the internet: the perspective of European children: full findings’ (EU Kids Online, LSE 2011).

87 See CAP ‘Placement of advertising in video-on-demand services: advertising guidance’, available at https://www.asa.org.uk/asset/C3BC565D-C4C9-457C-A59C14B88300ADC2/.

88 Discussion with ASA and the authors in May 2014.

89 Excluding lottery and scratch cards but including actual gambling broadcast on night-time TV.

90 Ofcom ‘Trends in advertising activity – gambling’ (November 2013) p 13.

91 Ibid.

92 Recommendation 2014/478/EU, above n 36, para 13.

93 BCAP Code, rules 32.2.2, 32.2.3 and 32.4.1–32.4.5.

94 BCAP ‘Guidance on the rules for gambling advertisements’ (January 2016), available at https://www.asa.org.uk/resource/gambling.html.

95 Ibid, paras 1.5, 1.6.

96 For new or one-off programmes, ibid, paras 14.1 and 14.2.

97 Ibid, paras 1.7, 4.2.

98 Ibid, para 4.3.

99 The equation is: percentage of the relevant age category watching the programme/percentage of the total population watching the programme x 100, see ibid.

100 Ibid, para 2.3.

101 Ibid, para 6.1: this is a small exception saving specialist, small channels the expense and burden of audience indexing.

103 CAP News ‘Gambling on your affiliates?’ (21 July 2017), available at https://www.asa.org.uk/news/gambling-on-your-affiliates.html.

104 CAP Code, 16.3.13, 17.14 (under 16 for lotteries; football pools, equal chance gaming, prize gaming or Category D gaming machines).

106 Ibid.

107 Ibid.

108 ‘Gambling adverts face ban from daytime TV’ (The Times, 7 October 2016) pp 1, 4.

109 Above n 103.

111 ASA compliance survey ‘Children and advertising on social media websites’ (July 2013) at 9, available at https://www.asa.org.uk/resource/Children-and-advertising-on-social-media-reports-and-surveys.html.

112 Facebook, Stardoll, Twitter, Spotify and YouTube.

113 ASA compliance survey, above n 111. In this small scale study 42% of children (10 out of 24) registered as 18 or over and consequently received advertising for age-inappropriate products, including gambling (17 gambling ads); 83% of children had registered a false age (20 out of 24).

115 Children should be protected even when they pose as adults; self-certification should never be recognised as age verification.

116 Ipsos ‘The prevalence of underage gambling’ (November 2015) at 13: 11% played free practice games in 2015, 9% (of those who have played an online gambling style game) played demo games on gambling websites (78 minors in the past seven days).

117 CAP News ‘Particularly appealing guidance for gambling operators, not children’ (27 October 2017), available at https://www.asa.org.uk/news/particularly-appealing-guidance-for-gambling-operators-not-children.html.

119 J Parke and J Rigbye ‘Self-exclusion as a gambling harm minimisation measure in Great Britain’, Report for the Responsible Gambling Trust, July 2014, p 17.

120 In a 2014 qualitative, indicative and small-scale survey of treatment providers, treatment providers mentioned marketing and advertising as a problem for self-excluded gamblers: Table 2 in Parke and Rigbye, above n 119.

121 The Gambling Commission has fined a gambling operator, 888, a record fine of £7.8 million after it failed to protect vulnerable consumers, including letting self-excluded customers play. This reflects the importance of self-exclusion in the eye of the regulator, see above n 102.

122 Binde, above n 15, at 17; Binde, PExploring the impact of gambling advertising: an interview study of problem gamblers’ (2009) 7(4) International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction 541 at 545–547CrossRefGoogle Scholar (qualitative study based on interview with 25 past or current problem gamblers in Sweden; just over 70% reported marginal or significant impact of gambling advertising, the self-reported negative impact was triggering impulses to gamble); and G Valentine and K Hughes ‘New forms of participation: problem internet gambling and the role of the family’ (Leeds: University of Leeds, 2010) (based on interviews with 26 self-identified problem internet gamblers, providing data as to why people gamble or continue to gamble); Derevensky, J et al. ‘An empirical study examining the impact of gambling ads on adolescent gambling attitudes and behaviors’ (2010) 8(1) International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction 21CrossRefGoogle Scholar (review of literature and marketing strategies); Planzer and Wardle, above n 12, 55–61.

123 A self-regulatory multi-operator self-exclusion scheme for online gambling is planned to be implemented by December 2017: see http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/Gambling-sectors/An-online-multi-operator-self-exclusion-scheme.aspx.

124 LCCP SRP 3.5.3; Recommendation 2014/478/EU, above n 36, para 43.

125 LCCP SRC 3.5.3(3) (remote) and SRC 3.5.1(3) (non-remote).

126 LCCP SRC 3.5.3(6)(a) (remote).

127 LCCP OCP 3.5.4(5)(g) (remote) and OCP 3.2.2(7)(f) (non-remote).

128 See above n 102.

129 Recommendation 2014/478/EU, above n 36, para 41(d).

130 Monaghan, Dervensky and Sklar, above n 19, at 258–259.

131 Above n 108.

132 The statutory basis for this is the Communications Act 2003, Sch 11A, para 6(2)(f) as amended.

133 Ofcom Broadcasting Code, Section 9 ‘Commercial references in TV programming’.

134 Ibid, 9.13(c).

135 Ibid, 9.15–9.25.

136 See above, nn 33 and 34.

137 11 May 2011–16 April 2016 (search performed 4 May 2016).

139 CAP Code, 16.3.1 and 17.1; BCAP Code, 17.3.1 and 18.2.1.

140 CAP Code, 16.3.3 and 17.2; BCAP Code, 17.3.2 and 18.2.2; Recommendation 2014/478/EU, above n 36, para 41(e).

141 CAP Code, 16.3.4 and 17.3; BCAP Code, 17.3.3 and 18.2.3; Recommendation 2014/478/EU, above n 36, para 41(f).

142 CAP Code 16.3.5 and 17.4; BCAP Code, 17.3.4 and 18.2.4.

143 CAP Code, 16.3.6 and 17.6; BCAP Code, 17.3.6 and 18.2.6; Recommendation 2014/478/EU, above n 36, para 41(d).

144 CAP Code, 16.3.11 and 17.10; BCAP Code, 17.3.10 and 18.2.10.

145 CAP Code, 16.3.16 and 17.18; BCAP Code, 17.4.2 and 18.9.

146 CAP Code, 16.3.17 and 17.19; BCAP Code, 17.4.3 and 18.10.

148 ASA ruling, 18 November 2009.

150 ASA ruling, 2 March 2016, above n 118.

151 CAP Code, 16.1 and Section 17 Principles; BCAP Code, Section 17 Principles and Section 18 Principles.

152 CAP Code, 16.3.2 and 17.12; BCAP Code, 17.4.4 and 18.4; Recommendation 2014/478/EU, above n 36, para 14(a).

153 CAP Code, 16.3.12 and 17.13; BCAP Code, 17.4.5 and 18.5; Recommendation 2014/478/EU, above n 36, para 14(c).

154 CAP Code, 16.3.14 (with the exception of young (sports-) person promoting a bet on a website or another place where the bet can actually be placed) and 17.15; BCAP Code, 17.4.6 and 18.6. The LCCP also make clear that this does not apply to point of sale advertising if the advertising depicts the sporting activity itself: see LCCP OCP 5.1.6(3); see Recommendation 2014/478/EU, above n 36, para 14(b).

155 CAP Code, 16.3.10 and 17.9; BCAP Code, 17.3.9 and 18.2.9; Recommendation 2014/478/EU, above n 36, para 14(d).

156 ASA ruling, 16 September 2009.

157 ASA ruling, 28 October 2015, available at https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/petfre-gibraltar-ltd-a15-308914.html.

159 ASA ruling, 4 January 2012; LCCP OCP 5.1.6(3).

161 ASA ruling, 8 January 2014, available at https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/metro-play-ltd-a13-246212.html.

163 ASA ruling, 9 December 2015, available at https://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/2015/12/Geo24-UK-Ltd/SHP_ADJ_311328.aspx#.VzBzHUaYGDM. See also CAP/BCAP Help Note, above n 62, at 5.

166 CAP Code, 16.3.7 and 17.5; BCAP Code, 17.3.5 and 18.2.5; Recommendation 2014/478/EU, above n 36, para 41(c).

167 CAP Code, 16.3.8 and 17.7; BCAP Code, 17.3.7 and 18.2.7.

168 CAP Code, 16.3.9 and 17.8; BCAP Code, 17.3.8 and 18.2.8.

169 CAP Code, 16.3.16 and 17.17; BCAP Code 17.4.1 and 18.8.

171 ASA ruling, 13 April 2016.

172 ASA ruling, 11 March 2015.

173 CAP/BCAP Help Note, above n 62, at 8.

174 J Kelly ‘Responsible gambling messaging’ (London: Harm Minimisation in Gambling: Progress and Prospects, December 2015).