The European Gaming & Betting Association (EGBA) has underscored the significant progress in standards and best practices by members that have applied its Responsible Advertising Code. 

The statement follows an independent evaluation undertaken by the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA), the Brussels-based association representing Europe’s self-regulatory organisations for advertising.

Following its positive adoption by EGBA members, EASA had branded the code as a ‘solid foundation’ for the responsible advertising of gambling services/products across  EU states.  

Since 2020, the EGBA has advocated that members follow its ‘Responsible Advertising Code for Online Gambling’ – that applies standard responsible advertising practices across all media platforms.

The code was developed by EGBA to meet European regulator concerns over the volume and coverage of gambling adverts viewed across regulated marketplaces.

EASA collected 1240 adverts from EGBA members using Nielsen media analytics, in the four markets of Greece, Romania, Ireland, and Sweden. The standards body assessed the collected adverts, which included TV ads, online pre-rolls, static and animated online banners, along with the social media accounts of EGBA members.

Following its evaluation, EASA gave positive verdict, that the EGBA’s code was a “solid basis for responsible advertising, due to its comprehensive and detailed content, and EGBA members already correctly apply most of its measures in their advertising, particularly on content moderation”.

Moving forward, the EGBA will strengthen the code, based on EASA recommendations to improve clarity of responsible gambling messages on customer age requirements and age-gating mechanisms on social media platforms.

“We’re pleased with the monitoring results and the progress our members are making in promoting responsible advertising. We thank EASA for their critical but constructive approach. Advertising is an essential tool to inform the public of which gambling operators are licensed and regulated – and it can be done responsibly,” said Maarten Haijer, Secretary General, EGBA. 

 “We encourage other operators to sign up to the code and join our efforts to raise responsible advertising standards. The industry must get serious about responsible and measured advertising, especially with the World Cup coming up later this year, otherwise the pressure of advertising restrictions will continue to pile on.”