TFL or Transport for London is making an allowance for banning gambling adverts across the entire advertising network. This drastic step has been taken after consideration by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London.
During his re-election campaign, Khan promised earlier this year; he would prohibit gambling advertisements on the Tube Lines in London. He supported his statement by explaining the devastating ways in which gambling addiction can destroy families.
From the months of April and June this year, TFL ran 49 advertisements which were concerning gambling, which crossed almost as many as the entire 2018/19 gambling advertisements done in the year 2018/19. However, during that time, they launched only 61 promotions.
What to expect from this decision?
TFL spokesperson has confirmed this week that they have assessed how they will implement the ban. This issue was recently raised in the meeting of the London Assembly by Sian Berry.
Sian Berry ran as the Green Party’s candidate in the mayoral election this week. During the meeting, Ms. Berry asked the Mayor of London whether the ban was appropriate or not. The concern shown by Ms. Berry was in light of the financial struggles faced by many Londoners.
Mr. Khan responded to Sadiq Khan by saying that he shared her concerns. He had formally asked TFL to bring forward its plans to ban gambling advertisements.
However, TFL does not have any particular time frame to impose the ban. Also, there is a growing pressure for TFL to ban the adverts from promoting risky investments.
In fact, Sadiq Khan himself has confirmed that it can be a difficult task because they do not fall under the predetermined category.
TFL has said it would be “difficult to assess the financial impact of a gambling advert ban as there are ‘many factors’ that affect advertising revenue year on year.”
How UK’s Gambling Ad Ban ln could affect India’s online casinos?
As of now, it is difficult to tell what could happen to Online casinos in India after the UK has imposed the ban on gambling ads. However, if the UK has taken this decision for the welfare of its citizens, India can also consider acts like this.
What will happen further?
In the past, Khan’s decisions have never failed to take action; in 2019, his announcement to take care of childhood obesity and ban all junk food adverts across TFL networks was successfully imposed.
However, that decision was estimated to have lost and cost TfL between £13m ($18m) and £25m a year in lost advertising revenue; therefore, TFL is treading slowly with this idea.
TFL announced it could be challenging to assess the financial impact of banning the gambling advert as many factors affect the revenue.
