The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has partnered up with the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA) in order to monitor its members during the rescheduled UEFA Euro 2020. As part of the process, Nielsen, a global analytics company with a specialization in advertising tracking, will be in charge of the process.
Nielsen will track the advertising content of EGBA members across TV, social media, and digital advertising mediums. This was confirmed by the EGBA in a news announcement on June 8, 2021. The activities in four specific EU countries were specifically mentioned: Greece, Romania, Sweden, and Ireland.
“Advertising is a hot topic in many countries and the gambling sector must take more responsibility for the content and tone of its advertising. We hope gambling authorities around Europe will acknowledge the efforts made by EGBA members to raise the bar in responsible advertising standards,” EGBA Secretary General Maarten Haijer said in the announcement.
All EGBA members have committed to responsible advertising for online gambling, which sets essential standards for advertising content across all media platforms. This includes dedicated measures for social media to enhance consumer and minor protection. The pan-European Code of Conduct was published on April 28, 2020, and sets long-term standards for gambling advertising content in Europe.
The monitoring started on May 20, 2021, and will run until July 20, 2021. That time frame coincides with the Euro 2020, which got underway a few days ago on June 11 and will conclude one month later.
“EGBA members are committed to advertising in a socially responsible way, even more so during prominent events like the Euro 2020 football championships. EGBA’s responsible advertising code puts this commitment into action and independent third-party monitoring of the code will support both compliance and trust in the code,” Haijer added.
The compliance of all members is expected throughout the entire European Union and the United Kingdom, however. As outlined in the set of rules, they apply without prejudice to the national laws on advertising practices related to online gambling. Measures do not prevail over legal requirements, which may go further than the suggested provisions.
The entire code-of-conduct can be accessed via the EGBA website and is available in the form of a PDF file, which contains 15 pages in total. Online gambling operators, national gambling associations and representative bodies of other industries are invited to join and promote the code of conduct.
By utilizing standardized rules for responsible advertising, consumers are guided to regulated online gambling services and away from the unregulated environment. In order to achieve that goal, it has to be done in a targeted and sustainable way.
By directing the efforts to a specific audience, the operators also have to inform their customers how to stay in control of their behaviour, and where to find help if required. During popular events such as Euro 2020, a fine balance between quality and the quantity of advertising has to be found in order to not be deemed as too excessive.
An essential part of the vision is the regular monitoring in an independent, transparent, participative and accountable manner. This is exactly what is now taking place as part of the cooperation with the EASA and Nielsen.
