A recent report revealed that children in 2020 were exposed to an average of 2.8 gambling ads per week, compared to 2.2 ads per week in 2008. This represents a decrease from the peak of 4.4 ads per week in 2013. However, children only accounted for 16.3% of the gambling ads seen by adults, down from 38.6% in 2008. On average, children viewed less than one gambling ad for every five ads seen by adults. The increase in the overall number of ads seen by children since 2008 can be attributed to the rise in overall gambling advertising.
Gambling ads constituted 2.7% of all adverts shown to children on TV, up from 2.2% in 2018. This increase occurred as the total number of ads seen by children decreased significantly. Among the gambling ads viewed by children, lottery and scratchcard ads were the most prevalent, accounting for an average of 1.0 out of the 2.8 ads per week. Bingo ads were the second most frequent, with 0.9 appearances per week, followed by casino ads at 0.6 appearances per week, and sports betting ads at 0.3. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) commended the gambling industry for its efforts to reduce advertising that might appeal to children, as evidenced by a decline in underage gambling ad exposure during Q3 of the previous year.
