Insights Industry Group for Responsible Gambling announces ban on TV gambling advertising around live sport events

The IGRG has announced major changes to its Gambling Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising, including a “whistle to whistle” ban on all TV betting adverts during pre-watershed live sport, starting five minutes before the event begins, and ending five minutes after it finishes.

Additional measures include an end to betting adverts around highlight shows and re-runs and an end to pre-watershed bookmaker sponsorship of sports programmes.

The IGRG says that these changes, which will effectively stop betting adverts from being shown in commercial breaks during televised live sport, are expected to be introduced in the summer of 2019. They exclude horse and greyhound racing programmes. These measures are complementary to the additional restrictions that have been made by some broadcasters, which include limiting betting adverts during the “build up” shows prior to live sport to one advert per break. To read the IGRG’s press release in full, click here.