UK Gambling Advertising Gets Small Exemption from CAP Code

The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) has announced that it will create a narrow and targeted exemption for betting websites in its CAP code. Currently, the code says that individuals who are or appear to be under 25 are prohibited from appearing in marketing communications for gambling products. The move comes after UK gambling law changes that effect who looks after online gambling in the country.

The sister organization to the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has made the move after concerns were raised in conjunction with CAP’s online remit extension and how this applied to gambling websites. Previously online sportsbooks in the UK came under the remit of the Gambling Commission.

The changes have only been made after public consideration, as the CAP sought to ensure changes wouldn’t go against the protection – especially for Children – given by the CAP code. in a statement on their website, the CAP states that it is: “satisfied that a narrow exemption to restore the status quo prior to CAP’s online remit extension is justified”.

The Gambling Commission has previously allowed online and mobile betting companies to use images of individuals under 25, so long as they were the subject of the bet being offered and were depicted in this manner – such as a footballer scoring a goal. They were not allowed to promote the operator or gambling in general.

Thanks to new UK gambling laws there are due to be some major changes in the world of online and mobile gambling. The remit of the major organizations has been changed, and with the growing popularity of mobile betting and casinos, new measures are sure to be close behind.

With plans for a 15% point of consumption tax, too, this is an interesting time for gambling in the UK, as well as the EU as a whole.