Gambling advertisements are a major concern for the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). Their prevalence is blamed for the increasing rate of problem gambling in the UK. The UK gambling regulator has been pushing hard to restrict gambling ads on various social media channels for some time now.
The UKGC recently announced that it has teamed up with social media giant Facebook to restrict gambling related content on their platform in order to better protect gamblers in the UK.
Facebook is by far the biggest social media advertising platform in the world and millions of users consume ad content on a daily basis without realizing they are being exposed to these ads. This is one of the concerns that the UK gambling watchdog is worried about since problem gamblers can easily be lured by gambling related content.
The UKGC and Facebook have come up with new guidelines will would limit gambling-related advertisements being shown to users in the UK. Facebook will be using several safety tools and settings to tailor what sort of ads will pop up while users browse through Facebook. The new rules are expected to reduce gambling related content and offer better protect to those users who have a tendency to fall into gambling addiction.
Facebook has given users the opportunity to exercise more control over the content they get to see.
Users can now hide ads on their newsfeed with a simple click and control what they see. Combined with the Ad Preferences tool, users can now choose the sort of ads they want to be exposed to. Users who think they are vulnerable to gambling addiction, should choose to not see any gambling ads at all.
Facebook will also be offering a Managing Data feature. This feature will allow the social media platform to gather data from each user’s preferences so that they won’t be targeted by the ads that they don’t like.
UKGC Pushing For Safer Online Gambling
With Facebook’s cooperation, the UKGC is securing yet another front for its campaign against gambling ads. The commission has been pushing hard to get gambling operators to follow safer practices and help reduce online gambling ads.
Neil McArthur, Chief Executive at the UKGC said this partnership with Facebook and the resulting changes in Facebook’s policies once again emphasizes the gambling commission’s dedication to curb problem gambling in the country.
