Why is online bingo TV advertising allowed during the daytime?
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Bingo and lottery ads are allowed to air on UK TV during the daytime. Sports betting, casinos and poker rooms were prohibited from advertising on TV until 2007. In 2007, the then-new Gambling Act allowed all gambling operators to run TV adverts. According to Ofcom research, this caused a 600% increase in ads between 2007 and 2013.
The UKGC defines lottery and bingo as gambling. The games offer pooled prizes with no listed payouts. They are allowed for charitable fundraising without licensing.
The lottery and bingo are British traditions. Lottery was established to raise state funds and organised by the government. Bingo is a low-cost entertainment. The legal age to buy a lottery ticket is 16. The National Lotteries was launched in 1994. It is regulated. Other gambling activities are restricted to those over 18s.
Online bingo generated £98.1m in revenue in May 2021 compared to £1.9bn for casino games and £ 1.0bn remote betting. National Lottery tickets totalled £3.6bn in the same period. Of this, £775.5m was donated to good causes.
Bingo is an open market with multiple licensed online and in-person operators. With players spending less, there are fewer incentives for operators to behave questionably. Bingo sites offer lower value bonuses and bingo promotions that do not use wagering requirements. Gala Bingo was banned by the UKGC in 2017 for not adhering to the social responsibility code for advertising. The advert suggested that playing real money bingos could be a way to escape depression, pay off debt and finance media bills.
Online bingo TV ads are allowed during the daytime. Bingo and lottery are communal or charitable activities. Other forms of gambling are restricted to post-watershed rules.
