EGBA members make responsible advertising progress

Members of the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) have recently made progress in their advertising efforts according to the first independent monitoring of the association’s pan-European responsible advertising code. The European Advertising Standards Alliance, which conducted the monitoring, found that the EGBA code is a solid basis for responsible advertising.

Established by EGBA in 2020, the responsible code for online gambling covers advertising content, social media, minor protection and responsible gambling messaging. After collecting 1240 adverts for EGBA member in Greece, Romania, Ireland and Sweden and assessing them, EASA gave positive feedback about the code, stating that it provides a solid basis for responsible advertising due to its comprehensive and detailed content. And found that members already correctly apply most of its measures in their advertising, particularly on content moderation. The organization suggested that the code could be strengthened further, particularly on the clarity of the responsible gaming message in the adverts, the explicit mention of legal age requirements for online gaming, the provision of a forward advice notice and age-gating mechanisms on social media profiles.

EGBA members will now discuss how to utilize and implement EASA’s feedback to further strengthen the overall effectiveness of the code. “We’re pleased with the monitoring results and the progress our members are making in promoting responsible advertising. Advertising is an essential tool to inform the public of which gambling operators are licensed and regulated – and it can be done responsibly. We encourage other operators to sign up to the code and join our efforts to raise responsible advertising standards. The industry must get serious about responsible and measured advertising, especially with the World Cup coming up this year, otherwise the pressure of advertising restrictions will continue to pile on”, said Marteen Haijer, Secretary General, EGBA.