Celebrities May be Prohibited to Advertise UK Gambling Advertising

It is predicted the body behind the UK advertisement code will prohibit celebrity participation in betting and gambling advertisements.

The Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) also conducted a public consultation on the proposed legislation in an effort to bring an end to under-18 marketing.

Present laws mean that commercials are only banned if they are more likely to cater to a child under 18 than to an adult.

Although under the new amendments, advertising would be banned if they cater to the former at all, irrespective of how the latter may view them.

There is no question that the proposed legislation will have a huge effect on the proliferation of advertisements involving reality TV stars and sporting celebrities, such as football managers Jose Mourinho and Harry Redknapp.

Currently, gambling and betting advertisements are banned from all media where more than 25% of the population is under 18, a restriction the cap considers necessary.

Despite growing demands from different organizations to remove gambling ads entirely, the cap has stated that there is no reason for such a ban.

However, it does agree that celebrities can be taken off ads as soon as possible.

“For example, featuring the England football captain in a gambling ad would be prohibited under this new rule,”

-CAP claimed recently

Let's hope that such a ban will only affect the UK market. Otherwise, we will all start to miss large-scale projects, such as advertising Pari Match with Conor McGregor and other sport celebrities.