Peers caa for the UK to enact a tobacco-style ban on gamblin advertisin

The UK shud bring in a ban on near-hand aw gamblin advertisin to keep the public safe, a cross-pairty group o peers has urged, provokin fury frae the lobby group for bookies and casinos.

In a 173-page report, the House of Lords liaison committee said the government had been faur owre passive in its response to an explosion o digital advertisin and social media influencers that are promotin the gamblin sector.

British bookies, slot machine venues and casinos wan £12.6bn frae customers in Great Britain last year, while up to 1.4 million folk hae a gamblin problem, accordin to official statistics.

The report fand that a tobacco-style blanket ban on advertisin, wi exceptions for the lottery and racecourses, wad be the maist effective wey to cut doun on hairms such as financial ruin, relationship breakdown and even suicide.

A ban wad likely result in the UK gamblin sector shrinkin, the report acknowledged, but it wad lead to langer-term economic benefit as siller that was previously spent on gamblin is diverted to ither pairts o the economy.

The report was dismissed as deeply misguided by the industry lobby group, the Betting & Gaming Council (BGC), which said ony sic policy cud increase hairm because it wad benefit the illicit market, which wad carry on advertisin.

Lord Foster, ane o the authors o the report, said the illicit market, whose exploitative activities hae been documented in Guardian investigations, was a legitimate concern and he pointed to ongaun efforts by regulators to crack doun on rogue sites.

That shud no deflect us frae the need to address the hairm that is bein creatin by the legal market, he said, insistin there was a wealth o evidence linkin gamblin advertisin to hairm.

Gamblin advertisin in the UK was liberalised via the 2005 Gamblin Act introduced by the government o Tony Blair, a landmark piece o legislation that aimed to regulate the sector but also promote its growth as a legitimate leisure activity that cud create jobs and boost the economy.

Afore the act, only bingo, the fitba pools and lotteries, includin the National Lottery, were allowed to advertise on the television.

The volume o gamblin advertisin has ballooned since then, wi the annual spend by the industry reachin £2bn in 2024, accordin to estimates.

In contrast to Blair, Andy Burnham has been a vocal critic o the gamblin industry and recently moved to gie councils mair pouer to block new bettin shops and slot farms openin up on heich streets.

As mayor o Greater Manchester, he expressed a desire to relegate gamblin sponsorship o sport to the history books.

The BGC pointed to voluntary measures already taken by the industry, includin a whistle to whistle ban that saw its members agree no to advertise durin the course o a televised sports fixture.

The trade body has also estimated that hauf o the siller spent on advertisin by gamblin firms now comes frae a fast-growin illicit market no subject to the same controls as licensed operators.

Grainne Hurst, the BGC chief executive, said that a blanket advertisin ban wad remove a key competitive advantage o bein licensed and regulated while doin naething to stop illegal operators targetin British consumers.

The Guardian ceased acceptin advertisin frae gamblin companies, excludin the National Lottery, in 2024.