UK Gambling Marketing Dominated by Online Sector

A strategic consultancy company, Regulus Partners, has published a report containing info on the evolution of gambling marketing spending in the UK by the country’s operators and gambling companies.

The Gambling Advertising and Marketing Spend in Great Britain 2014-17 report focused on financial data for 2017 and also notably on the period between 2014 and 2017 as a way of comparative analysis relating to the shift in used channels to reach the target audience and desired demographics.

A World Radically Changed

Out of £1.56 billion spent by UK gambling companies on marketing alone, almost half of that was invested into advertising via online channels…

…In total, £747 million is the figure that direct online marketing has amounted to in 2017 (that means banner ads and paid search ads among other methods of advertising) which is almost double the amount spent in 2014 – £400 million.

Overall, marketing spending has increased by 56% since 2014.

A very significant result, albeit in of dropped investments, was marked in TV advertising segment which ed for only 15% of the total – this is explained due to the fact that TV is no longer a primary source of information for younger generations and that UK regulations impose heavy restrictions on TV advertising of gambling.

As Marc Etches, GambleAware CEO puts it: “Children are growing up in a very different world than their parents. The Gambling Commission reports that 59% of 11 to 16-year-olds have seen gambling ments on social media, compared to 66% on television.”

Facebook is Where It’s At

Social media indeed holds a big merit – investing in ads on Facebook, Instagram, G+ etc. jumped from £42 million in 2014 to £149 million in 2017. The television expenditure has, in fact, increased from £155m to £234m during the three-year period, but not nearly at a rate of online.

On the other hand, offline advertising – such as billboards and print ads – plummeted 9%, from £94m to £20m in three years’ time. However, some other forms of offline marketing, like football kits and special events like horse racing doubled their spendings to £60 million.

The Method of Work

Regulus Partners have created the report methodically from the s of leading operators and financial data available for companies.

Analyzing the report further, Marc Etches of GambleAware remarked:

“The Regulus analysis shows that much more attention needs to be paid to the extent of gambling-related marketing online, and that internet companies and social media platforms must share in the responsibility to protect children, and to generally raise awareness of the nature of gambling, associated risks of harm, and where to go for help and advice if it is needed.”

In a recent report conducted by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission, it was revealed that there are serious omissions when it comes to underage people gaining access to gambling. In fact, almost 90% of UK pubs fail to prevent minors from using gaming machines on their premises.

The regulator has called for a quick and urgent action from everyone involved in order to advance efforts of protecting young people and children from the harm of gambling.

Source:

“Online dominates UK gambling marketing spend”, igamingbusiness.com, November 27, 2018.