The Gambling Commission has partnered with Facebook to create guidance aimed at limiting the number of gambling-related adverts users see on the social media platform. The guidance explains the different ways in which Facebook’s safety tools and settings can be adjusted within an individual account to control what a user can and cannot see in their Newsfeed.

The Commission says that issuing the guidance will help to mitigate the risk of exposure to gambling-related messaging and advertisements. This includes:

• hiding ads: users can control which ads they see to ensure they are relevant and utilise the “Why am I seeing this ad?” feature to hide all ads from a specific advertiser;
• ad Preferences tool: users can review advertisers they have recently seen ads from and choose to see fewer ads on a number of pre-determined topics; and
• managing data: users can control how their data is used to show ads on and off Facebook, including whether they can be targeted based on certain attributes listed in their profile.

The Facebook consumer guide follows the Commission’s advertising technology challenge to the industry earlier this year. As a result, industry committed to a range of new practices aimed at reducing vulnerable audiences’ exposure to gambling ads online. To read the Gambling Commission’s press release in full and for a link to the guidance, click here.