BGC Establishes New Rules for Social Media Posts by Football Clubs

The Betting and Gaming Council in the UK rolls out new tough rules on gambling advertising by football clubs on social media. The new rules aim at restricting audiences under 18 from seeing gambling offers posted by football clubs.

The Betting and Gaming Council Rolls Out New Tough Rules for Advertising

The gaming industry standards body in the UK, the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), announced on Monday the establishment of new tough rules for posts by football clubs on social media. The new rules aim at restricting minors from seeing gambling offers. These measures target posts by football clubs via their official social media accounts. The BGC implemented the new rules following concerns that posts can bypass the existing measures for betting advertising online.

One of the main concerns of the BGC is gambling ads posted by clubs on their official Twitter accounts. The new rules prohibit links to gambling websites or calls to action within organic social media tweets by football clubs. Furthermore, the BGC bans “any display of direct bonuses or odds on organic tweets which cannot be solely targeted at over-18s“. The BGC noted that it has already contacted the Premier League and the English Football League and highlighted the new rules. Furthermore, the Council encouraged the clubs to apply the rules for non-BGC members.

According to the BGC announcement, it has also contacted Twitter and Facebook. In its letter, the BGC urged the two platforms to introduce age-restrictions for social media accounts which would ensure that organic posts that include gambling adverts can only be seen by individuals over 18 years old.

BGC Worries about Children Which May Be Exposed to Betting Ads

In a statement, BGC chairman Brigid Simmonds said that football clubs are an important part of the sport in the country. Furthermore, she acknowledged that football clubs have millions of followers of all ages on social media. Simmonds stressed that the BGC is understandably concerned about children which gambling ads may reach on social media.

She added the new rules “make clear the standards” that clubs must follow when posting gambling ads on social media. In conclusion, Simmonds said the BGC is looking forward to implementing the new rules as soon as possible.

“Our members rightly have a zero-tolerance approach to gambling by under-18s, so as an industry we are understandably concerned that children may be exposed to betting adverts on Twitter.”

Brigid Simmonds, BGC chairman

Last year in August, the BGC published its Sixth Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising. According to the code, BGC members must ensure all sponsored or paid social media ads only target audiences aged 25+. The rule applies unless the organization can prove that the ads can precisely target audiences over 18s.

Recently, in January, the BGC released a video outlining the importance of changes to the UK gambling law. In light of the ongoing gambling law review, the BGC stressed that it’s extremely important the changes are implemented correctly. Furthermore, the Council warned that such changes may bring unintended consequences.