GVC, which became one of the world’s largest gambling companies after its £4bn acquisition of Ladbrokes Coral last year, said all betting ads should be banned from UK sports broadcasts, at all times of day.
The group said responsible gambling adverts and safer gambling campaigns would be permitted under its proposals, but limited to one advertisement per commercial break.
But the bookmaker’s proposed ban did not extend to betting adverts during horseracing, due to the importance of gambling to the sport’s viability.
Kenny Alexander, GVC chief executive, said in a statement that it was “high time that the industry did more to protect its customers from potential harm”, adding “today’s announcement demonstrates GVC’s commitment to delivering on that”.
GVC spends about £45m a year on UK sport advertising, almost a third of its total UK marketing spend. The company said its proposals would help curb problem gambling and went much further than the voluntary advertising restrictions signed up to by the largest betting companies last year.
The UK’s biggest gambling companies, including William Hill, Betfred and Bet365 among others, in December all agreed to stop advertising during live sports broadcasts in a move co-ordinated by trade body the Remote Gambling Association.
The “whistle-to-whistle” ban was welcomed by campaigners, and the Labour party, which has called for restrictions on betting adverts and a crackdown on online gambling.
Broadcasters have also recently taken action to curb betting ads. In November, Sky cut the number of commercials it runs for gambling companies in the UK, restricting adverts to a maximum of one per commercial break, including during live football on Sky Sports.
Football is expected to be the sport most affected by gambling advertising restrictions, with about 90 minutes of gambling adverts shown during the football World Cup according to industry funded charity GambleAware.
Source: GMB / FT.com
