RESPONSIBLE GAMING
Do advertising bans contribute to responsible gaming? ALFREDO LAZCANO AND ANDREA AVEDILLO ARGUE THAT ADVERTISING BANS HAVE AT BEST NO IMPACT ON PROBLEM GAMBLING AND AT WORST DRIVE THE VERY BEHAVIOR THEY ARE TRYING TO REDUCE
Introduction After a period of liberalization, several countries around the world – mainly in Europe – have started to restrict or completely forbid gambling advertising. The logic seems to be that if betting games are not advertised, then they are not consumed, especially by problem gamblers. Thus restrictions on advertising are justified as a part of the respective responsible gaming policies. However, problem gambling as a condition is a lot more complex and cannot be reduced through the blunt instrument of an advertising ban. On the contrary: restrictive measures tend to incentivize the behavior they are intended to prevent. On December 19, 2022, the Ministry of the Interior (Spanish acronym “SEGOB”), which is in charge of the regulation, control and oversight of betting games in Mexico, submitted for the approval of the National Commission for Regulatory Improvement (Spanish acronym “CONAMER”), a project to
amend 1 the current Regulations to the Federal Law on Games and Drawings (“Gaming Regulations”). Through this amendment project SEGOB is proposing, among other things, to ‘establish time restrictions in terms of advertising, propaganda and promotions of betting games and drawings’ 2 . The aforementioned case is just one of many examples of regulatory restrictions that the gaming industry is experiencing across the globe, since apparently ‘there are reasons to believe that at least some gambling advertising has a negative influence, because it contributes to the prevalence of problem gambling’ 3 . Even though this statement may not be false, as other studies have suggested, the issue with gambling advertising and the impact it has on problem gambling seems to be much more complex.
On one hand, as explained further in this article, there is a
1 NB as of April 2023, the project is still under consideration of CONAMER, thus it has not been published in the Official Gazette of the Federation and it is not mandatory yet. 2 Article 9 of the Project to amend the Regulations to the Federal Law on Games and Drawings in Mexico, submitted to CONAMER on December 19, 2022. Available at: https://cofemersimir.gob.mx/expedientes/27845 3 Binde Per, 2014. Gambling advertising: A critical research review. London: The Responsible Gambling Trust. Available at: https://www.begam- bleaware.org/sites/default/files/2020-12/binde_rgt_report_gambling_advertising_2014_final_color_115p.pdf.
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IMGL MAGAZINE | APRIL 2023
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