A survey on the Study of Gambling, which was supported by the National Lottery Commission and carried out by Ipsos MORI and the University of Salford’s Centre, has discovered children’s approach to live gambling and internet gambling at online casinos and bingo sites.
The survey examined the attitudes and know-how of about 9,000 children in the age group 12-15 with respect to gambling and it was discovered that a far less number of children were likely to buy National Lottery tickets, scratch cards or play casino games than initially expected. The survey reported that the rate of problem gambling has decreased since 2005-2006: 2% of children were recognized as problem gamblers compared to 3.5% in 2005. This decrease reflects the dropping levels of gambling among children, especially on casino fruit machines.
However, the survey also identified that children who were asked about gambling are now more aware of television with online casino adverts, with 78% claiming to have seen an internet pop up or television ad related to an online casino, bingo, or sports book website. The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA), which controls gambling ads, in order to safeguard the exposure to children, has a long history of prohibiting ads which violate the ASA’s ad code. Most remarkably, the ASA restricted a series of television advertising campaigns as the humor in these ads were possible to entice children and young people.
However, critics have recommended that the ASA’s gambling advertisement legislation is way too severe. When a couple of ads were banned, the Managing Director of the wagering firm suggested the ASA’s decision of an example of political rightness going too far. As the National Lottery Commission’s latest survey depicts, the ASA need to be firm, and probably bring out even stronger legislation, in order to protect children from gambling.