GambleAware Urges Stronger Online Gambling Rules to Protect Children
GambleAware has called for urgent changes to UK online gambling rules to reduce children’s exposure to gambling content.
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:In a new analysis released this month, the UK charity GambleAware warns that Britain’s regulatory framework for online gambling has not kept pace with the digital habits of children and young people. The report says children continue to encounter gambling marketing across social media, streaming platforms and influencer channels, often without the critical media literacy needed to recognise risk.
GambleAware highlights stark figures: research cited in the paper suggests three in four children who see gambling adverts say they make betting look "fun and harmless", and recent estimates indicate around 85,000 under‑18s in Britain are experiencing gambling-related problems. The charity says these trends point to an urgent need for reform of how gambling content is regulated online.
The analysis places particular emphasis on the role of influencers, celebrity promotions and embedded marketing on platforms such as short-form video and livestreaming services. GambleAware notes that these channels blur the distinction between entertainment and advertising, enabling operators and affiliate marketers to reach audiences that include minors.
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To address what it describes as an "outdated" system, GambleAware proposes a series of reforms designed to consolidate responsibility, increase marketer accountability and close regulatory loopholes. Key recommendations include bringing online gambling marketing and content explicitly within the scope of forthcoming cross‑government guidance from the Safer Gambling Messaging Group, tightening self-regulatory codes, and creating a dedicated task force to prioritise digital-era risks.
The paper calls for a clearer single point of oversight for digital gambling marketing, suggesting that fragmentation between bodies such as the Gambling Commission, the Advertising Standards Authority and communications regulator Ofcom has left gaps that are being exploited. It also urges that the responsibilities of social platforms and commercial marketers be strengthened so that age‑gating, targeting controls and transparency requirements become industry standards rather than voluntary measures.
"Children want and deserve to grow up in a world where they are not routinely exposed to gambling through marketing", GambleAware writes in the report, arguing that public sentiment already backs tighter regulation. The charity recommends regulators examine approaches adopted in other regulated markets – where influencer disclosures, pre‑broadcast warnings and tougher audience verification measures have been introduced – as potential models for the UK.
The Road Ahead for UK Gambling Reform
GambleAware’s intervention lands amid ongoing debate inside Whitehall and Westminster about the next Gambling Act review. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has previously signalled plans for further scrutiny of gambling advertising and consumer protections, while the Gambling Commission has indicated it will act where harm is identified. Any change will require cross-departmental coordination and likely a period of consultation with industry, regulators and child‑safety organisations.
Industry groups are expected to push back on measures described as overly prescriptive, arguing that strict controls on digital marketing would affect legitimate commercial activity and innovation in the online sector. GambleAware counters that protecting children and reducing harm should outweigh commercial concerns, and that clearer rules will provide businesses with a stable regulatory baseline.
Analysts say practical steps that could follow include expanded rules on influencer promotions, mandatory risk messaging in gambling-related content, standardised age‑verification technology across platforms, and a time‑based or content‑based restriction on gambling adverts appearing in feeds frequented by younger users.
As policymakers weigh options, GambleAware has urged swift action to ensure that interim guidance from the Safer Gambling Messaging Group covers both marketing and content while more comprehensive legislative reforms are considered. The charity concludes that without immediate changes, children and young people will remain exposed to a digital environment where gambling is normalised and harm is more likely to arise.
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