Church calls for gambling ad reform

A leading Church of England cleric has called for greater restrictions on gambling advertising in the UK.

The Church’s leading voice on the issue, Rev Alan Smith, Bishop of St Albans, and a Conservative peer, Lord Chadlington, have called for a crackdown as a study found two in three teenagers feel they are being bombarded by betting adverts on television.

A survey of 1,000 14 to 18-year-olds by Populus commissioned by Lord Chadlington found that a majority of youngsters think adverts make gambling look fun, while almost half believe the promotions make betting look like a good way to make money.

Rev Smith told The Daily Telegraph: “There has been a huge rise in the number of gambling adverts on almost every sort of media.

“There’s lots of evidence that young people are seeing extraordinary levels of advertising, which is normalising and socialising gambling.”

Lord Chadlington told the Daily Mail: “The Government should ban all gambling advertising during sporting events.

“It must ensure that both online and offline, the use of sporting celebrities to promote gambling should be stopped.”

Related article: UKGC seeks opinion on proposed regulatory changes