The UK Takes a Harder Stance on Gambling

If it were possible to go beyond a ban, it appears as though the current british administration and Prime Minister Gordon Brown would do just that.

Tony Blair and his cultural secretary negotiated the lifting of the advertising ban on gambling for the UK market. Since Gordon Brown took the Prime Minister's office in June, that and much more has changed.

It has been reported that the various gambling organizations, media and sports representatives have been discussing this and other issues with the Department of Culture. One of the stricter controls over the possible lifting of the ban would include a 9pm time limit prior to the appearance of the gaming ads. This would in effect create a de facto ban on betting and gaming advertising during the televised broadcasts of major sporting events.

In addition to finding ways to extend the ban, even if only partially, the Department of Culture has also thrown out a code of conduct designed by the gaming industry to control advertising. It was declared to lenient, and they were asked to rewrite it in much stricter terms. It does not appear that the gambling experts will easily be able to design a code of conduct that will reach the expectations of the secretary of culture or the Prime Minister.

Taking a tough stance on gambling and protecting the vulnerable would be more accepted by even the people in the United Kingdom, if creating every viable solution for the choice wasn't shot down every turn.

One unidentified industry insider told the Sunday Times newspaper that the industry had become a political football, and after the Prime Minister's apparent turn around on the super casino issue two weeks ago, this would be found to confirm that further discussions with government could include, conceivably overturning commitments from the previous Cabinet.