Report reveals children's exposure to TV gambling adverts has reduced

The number of children subject to TV gambling adverts has decreased over the past five years according to research released by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) on Thursday.

However, the amount of sports gambling adverts children are exposed to did increase from the previous year, from 0.4 ads per week in 2017 to 0.7 in 2018.

The number of gambling ads in total seen by children in 2018 has fallen to 3.2 per week, down from a peak of 4.4 in 2013, with the majority of adverts coming from bingo, lottery and scratchcard companies.

Brigid Simmonds, chairman of the Betting and Gaming Council, said: "The reduction in gambling adverts seen by children is very welcome. We introduced a 'whistle to whistle' ban on gambling advertising during sport in August this year and we are continuing to develop further measures to reduce advertising as part of our safer gambling commitments."

The advertising rules are designed to limit children's exposure through the ban on gambling ads in and around children's programmes and programmes of particular appeal to under-18s.

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