UK kids continue to see fewer gambling ads on television

UK kids continue to see fewer gambling advertisements on television, according to the country’s ad watchdog.

On Wednesday, the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) released its latest report on children’s exposure to age-restricted TV ads. The report builds on the ASA’s previous research, released this spring, which covered the period spanning 2008 to 2017.

The report found that UK kids were exposed to 3.2 television gambling ads per week in 2018, roughly equivalent to the figures reported in each off the past five years.

In 2008, the year in which the UK government relaxed rules prohibiting sports betting and online casino products, kids watching TV saw an average of 2.2 gambling ads per week. That number peaked at 4.4 ads per week in 2013, but the figure steadily dropped after the government imposed new rules restricting ads to companies licensed by the UK Gambling Commission.