Note: This advice is given by the CAP Executive about non-broadcast advertising. It does not constitute legal advice. It does not bind CAP, CAP advisory panels or the Advertising Standards Authority.
The Gambling Act & the CAP Code
Ensure ads are socially responsible
Non-gaming events or facilities
The Gambling Act & the CAP Code
The Gambling (Licensing and advertising) Act 2014 took effect on the 1st November 2014. It contains provisions relating to the licensing of gambling operators advertising or offering remote gambling facilities to consumers in the UK. We urge you to seek legal advice regarding the requirements of the act if you are unsure.
Under section 16 of the CAP Code, marketers should not exploit the young or vulnerable nor imply gambling can solve financial or personal problems. All gambling ads must comply with the Code and the law. The Gambling Act does not apply outside Great Britain. Specialist legal advice should be sought when considering advertising any gambling products in Northern Ireland or the Channel Islands.
Ensure ads are socially responsible
Ads for casinos or other facilities where section 16 applies, should be socially responsible (16.1) and not should portray behaviour that could cause financial or emotional harm (16.3.1).
In October 2021, the ASA investigated complaints about claims for a casino which included claims “…Unlimited Gaming Entry into Prize Draws Access to all our UK Branches” and “If you produce appropriate ID you will have access to unrestricted gambling …”. The ASA considered that while they understood the intended meaning, the overall impression of the claims was that consumers could gamble without limits or restrictions, and therefore condoned or encouraged consumers to engage in irresponsible gambling behaviour that could lead to financial, social or emotional harm (The A&S Leisure Group, 13 October 2021).
Non-gaming events or facilities
Marketing communications for non-gaming events or facilities that are in the same complex as, but separate from, gambling events or facilities do not need to comply with the CAP gambling rules, provided they do not portray or refer to gambling (Background to Gambling Section). But ads for non-gambling leisure facilities that refer to separate gambling facilities (for example, as part of a list of facilities on a cruise ship) must comply with the CAP gambling rules (Rule 16.3.15). Marketers of, say, a hotel complex that includes a casino have to decide whether they want to list the casino so as not to mislead by omission (some readers might consider it a significant factor in deciding whether to book a holiday there) and include it in the list of on-site amenities. If they do, the ad will become subject to section 16. Also, ads for non-gambling events or facilities that can be accessed only by entering gambling premises should make that condition clear (Rule 16.3.17).
Ads for entertainment centres, travelling fairs, horse racecourses and dog race track and for non-gambling leisure facilities that incidentally refer to gambling facilities may include children or young persons provided they are accompanied by an adult and are
socialising responsibly in areas that the Gambling Act 2005 does not restrict by age (Rule 16.3.17).
Other sections of the Code
Gambling ads are subject to the general CAP Code clauses, for example those on offence (Hippodrome Casino Ltd, 26 March 2014), as well as Code section 16, the main provisions of which require ads to avoid exploiting the young or vulnerable, portraying gambling as a means to solving financial or personal problems, linking gambling with sexual success or being otherwise socially irresponsible.