Exposure of children to gambling ads falls by 19% since 2008
New ASA study finds children are exposed to bingo and lottery products more than sports betting
Children were exposed to fewer TV ads for gambling in 2017 than they were a decade ago, according to a new report by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
The ASA study, released as part of a wider report into age-restricted advertising on TV, found that children’s exposure to gambling ads, relative to adults, fell from 39% in 2008 to 20% in 2017. The indicates children saw, on average, approximately one TV ad for gambling for every five seen by adults in 2017.
TV ads for gambling made up less than 2% of all the TV advertising children were exposed to on average between 2008 and 2017, equating to approximately 65.2 seconds of advertising per week.
In 2017, children saw on average 161.2 TV ads per week, of which 2.8% were adverts for gambling products. Most TV adverts for gambling seen by children since 2011 were for bingo, lottery and scratchcard products.
Despite the outcry over the proliferation of sports betting advertising over the World Cup, the study found that children’s exposure to ads for sports betting has decreased from an average of one advert per week in 2011 to 0.4 ads per week in 2017.
In addition to gambling products, the ASA study also found that childrens’ exposure to alcohol, food and soft drink products which were deemed to be high in fat, salt or sugar, so called HFSS products had also declined.
Despite the decline, Advertising Standards Authority CEO, Guy Parker said the ASA would not become complacent in this area and that it would “continue to actively monitor and report on this important area of work”.
The ASA confirmed is currently conducting a similar study concerning children’s exposure to online advertising, with the findings expected later this year.