The Betting and Gaming Council (BCG) is calling on British gaming regulators to crack down on social media advertising to self-excluded players. In a letter to Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer MP, BGC Chief Executive Michael Dugher asked the government to further enlist social media platforms to help in the fight against problem gambling, especially among Britain’s youth.
While Dugher lauds social media companies for allowing their users to opt-out of gambling messaging, he says that there’s still more than can be done to prevent problem gambling. In particular, the BGC would like to see all 30,000 Brits who have self-excluded on GAMSTOP from regulated gaming also be excluded from direct marketing of any kind. The BGC also wants social media to serve up fewer ads to users under the age of 25.
“This is impossible to achieve without the cooperation of the social media platforms themselves. This is a sensible solution, which BGC members are keen on implementing, but we cannot do so without the cooperation of social media platforms.
“I would urge you to help on this matter by calling on social media platforms to finally cooperate with the BGC and make the relevant functionality available, so we can help protect the most vulnerable,” Dugher said.
The BGC’s current social media standards require members to direct their social media advertising to users over the the age of 25, unless the platform can specifically identify 18-year-olds.
It’s estimated that around .3 percent the 22.5 million Brits who gamble every month are problem gamblers. So far there’s been no reaction from either Frazer or any of the social media platforms.