Earlier this week, the UK Gambling Commission, the country’s gambling regulator, announced changes to deposit limits, as well as player fund protection. The move comes at a time when an overhaul of the gambling sector is ongoing and seeks to make the country’s laws fit for the digital age, ensuring the protection of consumers.
Yet, gambling marketing so far doesn’t seem to be affected, despite the calls of responsible gambling advocates and treatment organizations to end gambling ads. Now, a new report suggests that gambling ads were seen via a mobile app used by parents for baby monitoring.
“Exhauster Parents” Surprised Unpleasantly by Gambling Ads
The application in question is YCC365 Plus, advertised as a solution for home security monitoring, but also used by some as home baby monitor. As announced by The Guardian, “exhausted parents,” who have been using the mobile app have seen advertisements of welcome bonuses for Ladbrokes, the famous gaming and betting brand owned by Entain, the global gambling giant.
Tom Fleming, a communications and public affairs adviser at Gambling With Lives, the leading gambling reform charity, who is also a parent, said that it was concerning to see his baby on camera next to gambling ads. He explained: “It’s something that’s there to keep my child safe but it’s also feeding through a stream of offers for harmful free bets and the like.” Fleming criticized the gambling advertisements that appear everywhere, including “somewhere as innocuous as this,” referring to the mobile app that can be used for a baby monitor.
Will Prochaska, a representative of the Coalition to End Gambling Ads, also criticized the advertising to and targeting of “exhausted parents.” He recognized such marketing activities as “another predatory tactic of the gambling industry, which makes most of its money from people it harms.”
Prochaska urged for changes to the gambling ads to prevent them from bombarding the population. Finally, he predicted: “If the ads aren’t stopped the damage to families and communities will only increase.”
Entain Says Its Ads Do Not Target Underage Individuals
In response to the announcement about the gambling ads that appeared via YCC365 Plus, a spokesperson for Entain explained that the company has strict regulations in place to ensure all of its marketing materials target audiences 18 or above. The spokesperson added: “The app in question, YCC365 Plus, is a home monitoring camera system and has therefore not been deemed to be targeted at under-18s.”
Based on the application of YCC365, which is described as a “home monitoring Wi-Fi video camera that sets up easily on your smartphone,” children aren’t its target audience. On Google Play, the app was downloaded more than 5 million times.