by Renee Israel
UK gambling companies came under fire last week in a parliamentary debate
among politicians.
Members of Parliament expressed their criticism for online gambling firms who
employed what they consider to be aggressive publicity techniques.
A suggestion was made an online gambling advertising review by
undertaken by Ofcom over the fact that there are no less than 36 hours of casino
and advertising ads per week through the UK media.
"At a time when there is £1.45 trillion of personal debt in this country and
when we are encouraging people to be moderate in their expectations and
behavior, will the Prime Minister please protect consumers, children and the
vulnerable from this kind of activity by asking for a review by Ofcom," said Lib
Dem Member of Parliament, Tess Munt.
Prime Minister Cameron said that the onus was on internet gambling firms to
act responsibly when advertising their services.
Expressing his concerns for what he termed "aggressive" techniques, Cameron
said that it was not just a question of regulation, as it is also a question of
responsibility by the companies concerned.
"Anyone who enjoys watching a football match will see quite aggressive
advertisements on the television, and I think companies have to ask themselves
whether they are behaving responsibly when they do that," he said.
UK Bookmakers Defend Advertising Techniques
Several UK bookmakers reacted to the parliamentary debate
regarding complaints over their advertising techniques.
The Irish land based and online gambling sports betting group,
Paddy Power, denied using aggressive tactics.
Earlier this month, Paddy Power was rapped by the Advertising
Standards Authority (ASA) for using football player Luis Suarez in one of its
advertising campaigns.
The watchdog group rebuked the bookmaker for acting "socially
irresponsibly" for featuring Suarez, as ASA regulations state that gambling
services are not allowed to feature anyone under the age of 25 in their ads.
Suarez was 24 years old at the time of the publicity campaign.
The ad featured a facial shot of Suaraz wearing a football
shirt, with the line "Money Back if Suarez Scores. Liverpool vs Man Utd. If
Suarez scores we'll refund losing bets."
Paddy Power, as well Sun International, the newspaper in
which the ad was run issued, a statement saying that they found it hard to
believe that it would have "particular appeal to young or vulnerable people, or
encourage young people to gamble, on the basis of Luiz Suarez's age or image."
