I’ve just seen an advert for some mobile gambling site where the fella is gambling on his phone, and his girlfriend asks “do you think I’ll turn out like my mum” and, because he’s not paying attention, he replies “I hope so” and awkward silence ensues.
It reminded me of another gambling ad I used to absolutely hate where a couple are on a date, and the fella isn’t listening to his girlfriend because he’s thinking about his next load of bets. Both with the crappy little ‘gamble aware’ token in the corner.
It makes me think; if you can’t have a quiet drink or spend time with your girlfriends parents (who I assume you’re trying to impress), without thinking about or spending your time gambling, it’s likely you have a gambling problem, and potentially need professional help.
I also think that it gives me the impression that it’s making a bit of a joke that it’s okay (and making light of) to ignore your partner in favour of gambling. Most of the partners in these ads are women, and it just gives me that 90s vibe of “haha lads gambling fun, wife boring”, basically trying to put women down.
I keep thinking that I don’t think these adverts should be allowed, as they’re encouraging dangerous and damaging behaviours, and promoting sexist values. Do you agree, or am I overthinking this?
24 comments
I guess you were so quick to jump to outrage that you missed the voice over about seeking help if you’re paying attention to gambling over your surroundings.
And there’s a female centric one, featuring a house going to pot while the mum gambles away.
Yes. You are being incredibly soft.
It is targeted marketing. It’s like why most adverts for fashion include people with almost unobtainable bodies.
Arguably fashion adverts for women are significantly more dangerous than gambling adverts as it’s forcing unrealistic body standards on young women.
I watch football and do see a lot of these ads. I do think it can’t be having a good impact on society. Sure most people can probably gamble within their means but it is a very dangerous habit for some to have reinforced every time they turn on the TV.
Adverts: Gamble on our app. It’s like Vegas. Really glamourous. Lots of girls in cocktail dresses. Hey check out the high roller on that table, we’re gonna comp you your drink. You’re a proper pro at counting cards, even the dealer is impressed with your skills. Doesn’t get better than this. No such thing as losers around here. All your dreams are going to come true. ^(gamble responsibly, when the) **FUN** ^(stops, stop)
Reality: it’s 2am, you’re in a mustard stained wifebeater and moderately drunk. You’ve just blown the rent and the electricity bill on virtual slots that are even more crooked than real ones.
If it’s illegal to advertise smoking because of the harmful effects, gambling should have the same regulations for the same reasons.
Pre-financial crash adverts: Consolidate all your loans into one affordable monthly payment!
Financial crash adverts: we buy any gold/car/house!
Adverts today: get it all back with gambling!
Gambling adverts shouldn’t be allowed. It’s an addiction that fucks up lives and we shouldn’t encourage it. It’s all good fun until someone loses a house, wife and kids, dignity.
I despise bookies. Parasitic scumbags, the lot of them. Would love to see them all go out of business
I hate these adverts. Luckily so does this organisation
https://the-bigstep.com/news/
They are trying to ban gambling companies sponsoring football teams.
>makes me think; if you can’t have a quiet drink or spend time with your girlfriends parents (who I assume you’re trying to impress), without thinking about or spending your time gambling, it’s likely you have a gambling problem, and potentially need professional help.
Not gambling but I get this feeling with the uktv play advert. People sat round a table in a pub watching different things on their phones. Wtf’s all that about?
No you’re not being soft. They’re awful, and the way they use the celebs is just the worst.
I don’t know why, but i particularly shake my head at Peter Crouch and Micah Richards doing them. I feel like “you were supposed to be the good guys…”
The ads should be banned.
I think any adverts to do with gambling are awful & should be banned. I was once homeless due to a now ex having a secret gambling habit. It ruins lives of not just the gambler but their loved ones, including kids, so many people are affected by the knock on effect of it. The government needs to do more to clamp down on it, but they won’t. Toxic habit.
Personally i don’t think they should be allowed to advertise, however i don’t think theres anything particularly wrong with the adverts you describe.
Gambling addiction is a ruthless addiction and is only topped by the real hard drugs like heroin & crack in my mind, as it’s ability to make you lose everything in a relatively short timespan is very realistic.
Things like Gamstop should be advertised immediately after gambling adverts.
I hate it and think it should be banned.
The ones I hate are the ones that imply you should gamble to make sport more exciting.
Their target audience ***is*** gambling addicts, that’s who they make their money from. Industry term is ‘whale’ but it means the same, whale because it’s a ‘big fish’ that they’ve reeled in/managed to get caught in the net
So if they want to make the most money from buying that ad space, they need to normalise that sort of behaviour in their ads
Joe who puts £100 on a horse once a year doesn’t matter to them vs Barry who spends his entire paycheck and then puts more on the credit card trying to win it back while ignoring anyone in their life trying to stop him. The person trying to stop them the most is probably going to be their partner + family, so the ads shit on them. Exactly the same way an abusive partner attempts to isolate their victim from their friends/family, and for the same reasons in fact
I’m for personal responsibility, so I don’t think gambling ads should be outright banned. Having said that, I agree with you that they should not be permitted to suggest that being obsessed with gambling is OK.
(obviously no sexist bullshit either, but that applies to any advert)
You could always [make a complaint](https://www.asa.org.uk/make-a-complaint.html), they do pay attention to them and ads have been pulled before after only a handful of people drew attention to problematic aspects of them.
Cant stand those bingo type ones – showing a bunch of happy people having a party : reality sat alone on
your sofa throwing your rent & electricity ££££ down the drain
As far as im concerned gambling ads should have the same advertising restrictions as Alcohol and Tobacco.
I think you have a valid point and I agree that we should be more mindful of the messages we’re sending through adverts.
Not at all overthinking it.
Gambling ads often make it look much more glamorous and enticing than it really is. I’d even argue that it’s “guaranteeing” you’ll make money with them.
Not only that, I also think a good chunk of them try to claim that sports are boring unless you have a bet on, after all if YOUR team WIN, you make BIG MONEY, doesn’t that sound better than spending money down a pub with mates?
The online ones I think are even more damaging, because you will get bombarded with emails. “FREE £5 BET” “BIG MATCH THIS WEEK, BET NOW” “DEPOSIT £50 AND GET £10 FREE!”
It’s all predatory as fuck, especially with the recent times where more people are likely to feel desperate in wanting to make money too. Coincidentally it’s why more low income towns tend to have Betfred, William Hill, Coral and another William Hill all next to each other.
Anything that promotes a life damaging lifestyle should never be advertised. That means shit like gambling, drugs and drinking.
Unless it’s to raise awareness/a charity that specialises in helping addicts out.
The industry by its very nature is predatory
Its no longer just traditional gambling any more (betting shops, lottery, online casinos)
Its infected the video game industry over the last couple decades as well.. effectively a breeding ground for the problem gamblers/addicts of tomorrow (loot box culture)
I can’t help wondering about the ones that offer odds on specific events happening during a game both before it and at half-time. That nice Mr Winstone offering odds on a certain player to score or a certain amount of goals being scored in the 2nd half. The company offering those bets cannot possibly want you to win them because they then lose money so they have to be designed to tempt people into thinking they might be worth it even though they wouldn’t be offered if Bet365 thought there was any decent chance of them happening. This is not your standard “our baked beans are cheaper than Sainsburys” type advert where you are offered a deal in return for goods/services.
Honestly, I’d prefer it if gambling ads were banned entirely.
I agree with you. In my opinion, it’s all about teaching people what to think is normal, and gender expectations are a crucial part of that.
I think that gambling companies have a vested interest in supporting that gendered vision of normalcy. It’s a normal, masculine pass-time to gamble. It’s normal to be dismissive of the people in your life who feel neglected as a result of your addiction. Or, it’s normal that your husband/boyfriend has this addiction, so you don’t need to encourage them to seek professional help.
If you’re thinking “My boyfriend seems to be gambling a lot… I’m worried about him.” the ad is saying “Nah that’s just men amarite? Can’t be helped!” And if you’re thinking “I’m worried I’m neglecting my girlfriend because of my gambling” it says “Nah, women are always banging on about something. Don’t worry about it.”
I’ve had/got a gambling addiction so would personally like them to be banned, but like anything else that people can get addicted too, people will gamble/drink/smoke regardless of advertising.
Getting help was what saved me so I would like to see more advertisement on the help people can get from organisations/charities but unfortunately they don’t have the funds gambling companies do for advertising.