The European Advertising Standards Alliance and Nielsen monitored 1,240 adverts from EGBA members to assess the effectiveness of EGBA’s responsible advertising code during Euro 2020. The monitoring covered Greece, Romania, Ireland, and Sweden. EGBA’s code, introduced in 2020, includes measures for responsible gambling advertising such as not targeting minors, age-gating on social media, and not sponsoring activities attractive to minors. The EASA found that the code provides a solid foundation for responsible advertising, but improvements are needed for clearer requirements on including responsible gambling messages in ads. EGBA encourages other operators to join the code to raise responsible advertising standards.
EGBA secretary-general Maarten Haijer expressed satisfaction with the monitoring results and the progress made by members in promoting responsible advertising. However, he emphasized the need for the industry to take responsible and measured advertising seriously, especially with the upcoming World Cup, to avoid increased advertising restrictions.