How Tech Is Helping to Regulate iGaming Advertisers?
Posted by Harry Kane on Thursday, May 2, 2019
When the UK’s leading iGaming operators announced a blanket ban on pre-watershed television advertising in the UK, many heralded a significant breakthrough for responsible gambling and the protection of minors.
However, many experts suggested that online advertising provides a more significant to minors and vulnerable gamblers alike, and this appears to have been confirmed through a recent sting conducted by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
In this post, we’ll look at the results of the sting in detail, whilst asking what technology was used to identify the offending operators.
What Did ASA’s Sting Unveil?
ASA was responsible for an extremely sophisticated and technology-led operation, which found that a total of five iGaming firms had violated the country’s existing rule for targeting kids with their advertisements.
In total, a staggering 43 online operators were featured in questionable advertisements published on easily-accessible platforms, including a total of 20 YouTube channels and (perhaps more alarmingly) 24 children’s websites.
From the data that they accumulated, the ASA decided to isolate and name five brands for breaking the UK’s advertising laws, namely Multilotto, PlayOJO, Unibet and Vikings Video Slot.
The reason that these brands were singled out is simple; as rather than advertising on YouTube (which provides something of an unregulated grey area for operators), they were being promoted through websites that are regularly frequented by kids.
Some 11 sites in total were found to host 23 unique ads from these brands, some of which appeared over 100 times. The Vikings Video Slot accounted for nearly half of these, but all of the listed operators have been forced to respond to the allegations.
Unibet has released a statement through its parent company the Kindred Group, which claimed that third-party advertising providers were responsible for the breach. Apparently, the adverts were published without the control, knowledge or direct consent of the parent company, who have subsequently moved to address a technical fault that existed within the third party’s systems.
Fortunately, the operators in question are likely to escape with a warning, particularly as the new advertising guidelines were only announced in full at the beginning of February.
Now, whilst it was common knowledge that the new laws would be enforced at the beginning of April, it’s likely that ASA at least began their investigation towards the end of March. As there would have been no legal requirement for operators to be compliant at this time, ASA is likely to issue a stern warning and the promise of heavy financial sanctions if the breach is repeated in the future.
It’s also likely that ASA will run similar investigations in the future, and this should provide an incentive to operators to comply in full with the new legislation. At the same time, the organisation is looking to create a system that will enable them to monitor sites that require sign-up, in a bid to review operator activity on sites such as Facebook and access a broader data set.
What Technology Did ASA Use to Expose the Recent Breaches?
The ASA certainly has a form for collaborating with technology firms to achieve its objectives, with the most recent investigation carried out using child avatars that replicated a typical underage web browsing experience.
The number of gambling ads that they were exposed to were subsequently tallied, before being broken down according to the brand behind them and precisely where they were published.
These avatars were underpinned by innovative technology, which enabled the ASA to effectively track and record online gambling adverts that were either deliberately or inadvertently targeting youngsters.
At the same time, ASA partnered with a data and analytics firm to refine their findings, ensuring that they could provide an accurate report and insight into the threats facing underage gamblers in the UK.
Not only did the avatars replicate the typical Internet browsing habits of children, but they also covered a broad age spectrum. In fact, they included children aged six to seven, eight to twelve and 12 to 16, each of which access the Internet using the same device.
There were also avatars created for an adult and a person of an indeterminate age using the same device, as this offered a comparable user experience and revealed the true extent of how minors are being exposed to sponsored gambling messages online.
As we’ve already said, this investigation only focused on sites that did not require login details, and the next step is for ASA to explore platforms such as Facebook.
After all, this is home to a number of casino-themed social games, which may be accessible to youngsters from the age of just 13.
The Last Word
The recent investigation from ASA should be considered by operators as a shot across the bows, as it certainly hints at stringent monitoring and potentially heavy financial sanctions in the event of future breaches.
After all, the new legislation is now fully enforced in the UK, and there will be absolutely no excuse for any operator that fails to comply with this in the months and years ahead.
Whilst this will undoubtedly be welcomed by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), it’s also fair to say that both the regulator and the ASA will be keen to investigate activity relating to secured sites such as Facebook.
Popular channels of this type have provided a huge challenge for regulators to date, primarily because of the high volumes of gambling content that they publish and the fact that people are able to register for an account from the age of just 13.
This represents the next stage of ASA’s monitoring, however, and for now, it’s enough to know that the organisation is taking steps to protect minors.
Remember, the number of children classed as having a gambling problem has quadrupled to more than 50,000 in the last two years, and taking steps to minimise this number is crucial for the future of both society and the iGaming industry as a whole.