CAP has today launched a consultation on whether to grant a limited exemption to the rule that prohibits people who are, or appear to be, under the age of 25 from playing a significant role in gambling advertisements. If adopted, the narrow proposal will, once again, allow online services, such as betting websites, to feature individuals to illustrate bets being offered for sale on the website itself.

CAP received representations from the sports betting industry that the 2011 extension of the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (the CAP Code) to marketer’s own websites unintentionally restricted a practice that had previously been permitted by the Gambling Commission. A rule in the CAP Code prevents advertisers from featuring anyone who is, or appears to be, under the age of 25 from playing a significant role in gambling marketing communications. This rule meant that the industry was no longer able to feature images of sports people under the age of 25 to illustrate bets offered for sale on their own websites. The industry believes this is disproportionate particularly when, for example, offering bets related to different players within the same football team.

CAP is committed to ensuring that responsibility in gambling advertising is maintained and that its rules are applied proportionately in the context of the extended remit.

Such websites are unlikely to have significant audiences of young people and their ability to place a bet is restricted by age verification mechanisms required by gambling operators’ licenses. Therefore, CAP is conducting a public consultation on its proposal to amend the Code to permit the limited use of individuals under the age of 25 in marketing communications. The proposal is narrow in scope meaning that the individual may only be used to illustrate specific betting selections where that individual is the subject of the bet offered and the marketing communication must only appear in a place where a bet can be placed directly through a transactional facility, for instance, a gambling operator’s own website.

The consultation period will run from 29 November 2012 until Friday 8 February 2013. CAP welcomes responses from any interested parties and members of the public. Once the consultation has closed, CAP will evaluate all significant comments and publish the responses when it announces the outcome of the consultation.

Please see the CAP Consultation Section for details of the proposals and how to respond to the consultation.

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