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Advertisements depicting gambling are to be allowed on British TV and radio stations from later this year, it has been announced today.

The new rules will come into force in September, but gambling adverts will still have to be socially responsible and not make their ads appeal to children or encourage irresponsible gambling.

The Committee of Advertising Practice (Cap) and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCap) unveiled the new rules today in response to the introduction of the Gambling Act 2005.

Once that act comes into force, "some gambling sectors such as betting, whose advertising is currently largely restricted in non-broadcast media and entirely prohibited in broadcast media, will be permitted to advertise more freely", the committees said in a joint statement.

The new regulations will be policed by the Advertising Standards Authority (Asa) but "serious or repeated breaches of the codes" can be reported to the Gambling Commission and broadcasting watchdog Ofcom to "consider legal or regulatory sanctions".


Cap and BCap secretary Roger Wisbey said: "These changes to gambling regulation mark a significant milestone in the way betting and gaming can be advertised in the UK.

"Of paramount importance is making sure that the advertising gambling restrictions provide a high-level of consumer protection.

"Although advertisers will enjoy more freedom to advertise their services across media, the public can be confident that they will do so within a stringent framework that requires all ads to be prepared in a socially responsible manner."

Asa spokesperson Claire Forbes defended the decision to lift the ban on TV and radio gambling advertisements.

"The rules state quite clearly various stipulations," she told the Today programme.

"Gambling advertisements cannot suggest that gambling is a way to get rich...[or] a way to overcome problems such as depression or loneliness. They can't have particular appeal to young people [or any] association with youth culture," she told the Today programme.

She agreed, however, that the purpose of the ads was to encourage people to gamble, but she was confident it was possible to do this and still protect the more vulnerable members of society.

"I think... you have to look back at the record and the experience which the Advertising Standards Authority and the Committee of Advertising Practice bring to this. For 40 years we've been enforcing rules for advertising in all sectors, including things like alcohol," she said.