The Committee of Advertising Practice watchdog joined the Gambling Commission, the Advertising Standards Authority and the Remote Gambling Association in the United Kingdom last week in order to write a letter wherein they warn online gambling operators against placing advertisements on their websites that could possibly appeal to minors. Over 450 gambling sites have been ordered to remove any casino games that they claim are targeting the under-18-crowd.
According to an official letter, it is the cartoonish graphics, sweet characters, storybook characters and names of games such as Cutesy Pie, Karate Pig, Piggy Payout, Jack and the Beanstalk, Fluffy Favorites, Pirate Princess, Moon Princess and Peter Pan that serve as gambling advertisements that are bound to appeal to children. These titles are not just free but come with bets that range as high as £600 which could be specially damaging if children gain access thereto.
The letter also advised online gambling operators who are in violation of such acts to amend or remove such materials from their websites immediately as well as from any third-party spaces, including affiliate advertisements.
The crackdown comes after an investigation from the Times showed that gambling sites are taking advantage of a “loophole” that they were under the impression allowed them to make child-orientated games without violating Gambling Commission rules. Although age verification checks was used for anyone wanting to play for money, players were able to play for free without any kind of checks.
The letter also advised that the Committee of Advertising Practice has “various sanctions available to it” and would consider applying these against any operator that continues to display minor-focused marketing material.
