Prominent online gambling operators have released their first ‘pan-European’ code for advertising, but the UK market is demonstrating that nothing they do will ever be enough for anti-gambling campaigners.

On Tuesday, the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) released what it called the “first Pan-European Code of Conduct for responsible advertising for online gambling.” EGBA boss Maarten Haijer hailed the Code’s promotion of “high standards for minor protection and socially responsible advertising content.”

The Code may be the first of its kind in geographic terms but its text is typical of most responsible gambling codes, although we did like the prohibition on portraying “adolescent, juvenile or loutish behavior.” The EGBA said the new Code would complement its more short-term directives for responsible advertising during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Parties to the agreement include EGBA members Bet365, Betsson, GVC Holdings, Kindred Group and William Hill, and the EGBA urges other operators and national gambling associations to both sign up for and promote the Code. It is the EGBA’s “intention to ensure that compliance with the Code is monitored and enforced by an independent third party.”