1 in 5 adverts on the radio are gambling, it's horrendous.

SneakySpectator

I only ever listen to the radio when I'm in the car and I listen to Kisstory which plays old school bangers from the 1990s / early 2000's, and I probably hear a gambling advert about once every 5 ads. 

Whether it's an ad about the lotto, bingo, william hill, slots, las vegas online casino etc it's appalling. Then on top of those gambling ads you have the official Kisstory gambling ad which is enticing you to text to win a large sum of money, this ad gets mentioned every time between breaks in songs.

It's honestly disgusting, I understand radio stations need to make money but 20% of your ads being about gambling is terrible. Surely you can find other companies to advertise? I don't know what other radio stations are like but I think gambling adverts should actually be banned, like cigarette ads for example.

Gambling is so destructive and it preys on the weakness and desperation of poor people with the hope of winning a large sum of easy money.

I guess that's part of being a free country though is people being able to make their own mind up about what to do with their money. But at the same time promoting something which is almost always results in a negative outcome should not be allowed to have ads.

Also when you're "live gambling" I think it's way easier to overspend without realising it. 

MattMattMattUK

It comes down to personal choice, we all have free will and how we exercise our agency is down to us as individuals. Ad revenue is somewhat of a bidding war, it may be that gambling companies are willing to outbid other companies, it may be that they pick up the unsold slots but they will also be targeting various demographics. From what I have seen in the past gambling advertising does has little impact on the number of people who gamble, it is largely about fighting over market share. Advertisers will have identified listeners of different stations as target customers and go after them, I have never heard a gambling advert on Classic FM, I do hear quite a lot of them on Absolute.

SneakySpectator said:

But at the same time promoting something which is almost always results in a negative outcome should not be allowed to have ads.

Junk food? Alcohol? Fast fashion? Unsecured borrowing? Parasitic lawyers? Lots of things offer little to no benefit apart from enjoyment and are largely negative, but we still allow them. Some people enjoy gambling, personally I have never understood why. Some people enjoy paying an idiot tax, which is how I regard the lottery due to the odds of winning being so low it is effectively zero, though I do pay that particular idiot tax a few times a year, it can be nice to have a short lived dream when Euromillions is £100+ million. Where is the line drawn about what can be advertised and who gets to draw it?

RogerPensionGuy

Gambling is just so profitable for the organisations and all stakeholders on that side of the fence results is so much pressure and money advertising it.

I like the TV shows offering a new car, holiday and 200K cash and telling me it's all tax free!

I think government should at least make payout % or number of entries on these gambling rackets super clear to see like 3 million staked and one person gets the car, holiday & 200K cash tax free, or just say only 10% of stake money is paid out to people pumping money in these schemes. 

I've noticed some gambling outfits are doing a little little self regulation probably trying to hold off a more government requlated outfit to protect people from this growing business.

I used to think nicotine was the most addictive stuff generally, but think I was wrong, gambling is probably the number one now. 

Brie

Easy solution.  Switch the station you listen to. 

I can't remember the last time I heard a gambling ad on the radio.  Nation, Heart, BBC......

Emmia

I have to agree with Brie, switching stations if you don't like the ads / djs etc. is the easiest solution.

powerspowers

I agree the number of gambling ads is atrocious, more so if you also watch certain tv chnnels. I find it hard to say something is personal choice when you are surrounded by constant messages to gamble (but make sure you do so responsibly!). I have younger brothers into sports and both struggled with gambling in the late teens. It’s completely normalised and pervasive. 

If you are struggling with it, could you change radio stations or put a playlist on? If it’s more that you think it’s wrong, you could write to your MP but I don’t think you’ll make much difference.  

SneakySpectator

powerspowers said:

I agree the number of gambling ads is atrocious, more so if you also watch certain tv chnnels. I find it hard to say something is personal choice when you are surrounded by constant messages to gamble (but make sure you do so responsibly!). I have younger brothers into sports and both struggled with gambling in the late teens. It’s completely normalised and pervasive. 

If you are struggling with it, could you change radio stations or put a playlist on? If it’s more that you think it’s wrong, you could write to your MP but I don’t think you’ll make much difference.  

I'm not struggling with it, I never gamble. But I know people who have been affected by it. 

Saying "always gamble responsibly" is like telling a drug addict to "always use responsibly".

Telling those who're addicted to gambling to gamble responsibly is pointless.

Emmia

SneakySpectator said:

powerspowers said:

I agree the number of gambling ads is atrocious, more so if you also watch certain tv chnnels. I find it hard to say something is personal choice when you are surrounded by constant messages to gamble (but make sure you do so responsibly!). I have younger brothers into sports and both struggled with gambling in the late teens. It’s completely normalised and pervasive. 

If you are struggling with it, could you change radio stations or put a playlist on? If it’s more that you think it’s wrong, you could write to your MP but I don’t think you’ll make much difference.  

I'm not struggling with it, I never gamble. But I know people who have been affected by it. 

Saying "always gamble responsibly" is like telling a drug addict to "always use responsibly".

Telling those who're addicted to gambling to gamble responsibly is pointless.

Unfortunately you're howling into the wind on this one. I agree gambling is a nasty pernicious life ruining industry, but banning it will simply drive it underground. Banning the ads, won't stop people gambling either.

All you can do is switch stations.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Look at Monopoly Go, over 500 million USD spent on advertising resulting in over 2 billion USD in revenue for a "game" based on gambling mechanics.

Big money in gambling which is why they can afford the advertising space. 

SneakySpectator

Oh god I've awoken the Nigerian prince scammers. 

Albermarle

RogerPensionGuy said:

Gambling is just so profitable for the organisations and all stakeholders on that side of the fence results is so much pressure and money advertising it.

I like the TV shows offering a new car, holiday and 200K cash and telling me it's all tax free!

I think government should at least make payout % or number of entries on these gambling rackets super clear to see like 3 million staked and one person gets the car, holiday & 200K cash tax free, or just say only 10% of stake money is paid out to people pumping money in these schemes. 

I've noticed some gambling outfits are doing a little little self regulation probably trying to hold off a more government requlated outfit to protect people from this growing business.

I used to think nicotine was the most addictive stuff generally, but think I was wrong, gambling is probably the number one now. 

They now run affordability checks on any gambling over a certain amount. Most of it is done in the background, but in some cases can be quite intrusive.
It has caused uproar amongst the more serious horse racing gamblers, where all kind of financial details are being demanded before a bet can be placed ( and not always a very big bet ) . It has reduced betting turnover ( some going to a black market) and has reduced income to horse racing as a sport, which is causing financial problems.
There have been petitions to Parliament, lobbying of ministers, accusations of nanny state etc.

It is the same in many areas. Protecting the vulnerable often leads to undue restrictions on the many.