National Lottery Advertising Consultation Report
On the 8th September, the Committee of Advertising Practice Ltd. (CAP) and Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice Ltd. (BCAP) published their response to the consultation on changes to advertising rules related to the National Lottery. The consultation which ran from March to May 2021 aimed to bring advertising codes in line with the legislation which increases the minimum age for buying National Lottery products from 16 to 18 years old. The Gambling Health Alliance’s (GHA) consultation response can be found here found here.
In our response, we recommended that the proposed ban on creating advertising to appeal to under 18s should be extended to under 25s. While the committee expressed hesitancy, due to the need for evidence to demonstrate that risk of harm outweighed the right of advertisers to market at legally eligible young people, they did favour a 25-year age limit on people featured gambling in adverts, to help make gambling appear suitably distinct from adolescent culture.
We also argued that gambling advertising restrictions should also apply to emerging forms of marketing, such as social media influencers. This was agreed by CAP and BCAP, who noted their existing strong regulatory rules for online ad placement and influencer marketing.
In regards to concerns of gambling being ‘normalised’, the committee came to the conclusion that the normalisation of such products and services does not present a policy concern. However, they acknowledged that the normalisation of ‘irresponsible’ activity was unacceptable, and that adverts should not encourage behaviour that ‘could lead to financial, social or emotional harm’ and promised to review evidence of potentially irresponsible use.
The GHA’s response was not published due to ‘commercial sensitivities’, however we are pleased to see the committee to agree with a number of our suggestions. GHA look forward to continuing to engage with these issues in the future.
Guidance on Advertising of In-Game Purchases: Consultation Report
On the 20th September, CAP and BCAP published their guidance on advertising in-game purchases, in response to the consultation on loot boxes.
GHA’s campaign #LidOnLoots showed the case that buying a loot box is like taking a gamble, but the law doesn’t see it that way; and made the case for better protection to prevent young people from engaging with this gambling-like activity that is damaging their finances and wellbeing.
In the below table, we summarise our campaign recommendations and CAP and BCAP’s response.
| GHA recommended that | CAP and BCAP responded that |
|---|---|
| The odds of receiving a valuable item from a loot box should be clearly shown at the point of purchase within the game and before the game itself is purchased | The value of disclosing odds for loot boxes is not yet demonstrated by evidence, and it is unclear whether consumers are able to effectively use such information. |
| Influencers advertising loot box content online should fall under the same marketing regulations as other publicity forms, with disclosure of industry connections | Agreed with recommendation. |
| Information of how games publishers use player information should be disclosed, in particular how industry uses individual’s previous gaming and purchasing activity to promote in-game purchases |
The introduction of specific information under existing data protocols would not be straightforward. |
| Regulations should be introduced to prevent accidental in-app purchases being made | The issue of accidental in-app purchasing is a matter of product or platform design, and therefore outside of the scope of marketing regulation. |
| That the use of virtual currencies makes it harder for young gamers to understand the real-world monetary value of what is being purchased, and consumers must be made aware of the equivalent real-world price for an item | The variety of ways of gaining virtual currency, such as through ‘earning’ the credits in-game, or purchasing them with real money, made it ‘impossible’ for some games to provide representative real-world prices for items, and that a real world value may not contribute to consumer understanding. For these reasons, the guidance was amended to not require advertisers to include real-world price statements. |
| Calls for a ban on pressure-selling tactics, such as countdown timers, for the marketing of loot boxes in games to under-18s | CAP and BCAP responded saying this is a highly contextual marketing aspect, and should be considered on an individual basis. |
| Advertisers should not directly encourage children to make in-game purchases | Such actions would be ‘disproportionate’. |