ASA praises gambling operators as ad exposure to minors drops 93%

The number of gambling adverts viewed by underage individuals dropped by 93% to just five ads between July and September, according to the latest data from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Releasing data from its second monitoring sweep of children’s websites and YouTube channels, the ASA found five different betting adverts from three gambling operators appeared on six child-facing websites. However, no gambling adverts appeared on child-facing YouTube channels during the period. During its first sweep, the ASA identified 70 ads from four operators across eight sites accessible by minors. The ASA confirmed that none of those four operators were found to have broken the rules again during this reporting period. “We’re encouraged to see advertisers, most notably in the gambling sector, taking steps to target their age-restricted online ads responsibly,” ASA CEO Guy Parker said. “We expect that trend to continue, particularly among HFSS advertisers, throughout the remainder of this project and beyond. “We’ll continue working with advertisers and taking action where necessary to build a culture of zero tolerance for age-restricted ads appearing on websites aimed at children,” Parker added.