GVC Holdings wants to ban all sports betting adverts - (2025)

by Luke Andrews, 25 April 2019

GVC Holdings has called on the industry to back its call for a total ban of televised sports betting adverts. GVC has also promised to end all of its UK football sponsorships.

ALexander has called for the industry to follow suit and go further than the whistle-to-whistle ban. © Pixabay.

GVC CEO, Kenny Alexander, has said that the industry’s soon to be implemented self-imposed whistle-to-whistle ban does “not go far enough”.

GVC has published its proposals, requesting that the industry follows its call for a complete ban on sports betting adverts, both on live and replayed events. Horse racing would be exempted.

Adverts that promote responsible gambling campaigns would be allowed and limited to one advert per break.

GVC has also pledged to end its sponsorship deals with UK football clubs. Alexander said that this move would “allow fans to watch their favourite teams without seeing incentives to bet”.

Speaking about the move, Kenny Alexander said:

Whilst the vast majority of our customers enjoy our products responsibly, it is high time that the industry did more to protect its customers from potential harm. As the UK’s largest gambling company, and owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, we at GVC are doing exactly that. I call on our industry peers to help us bring about an end to broadcast advertising which promotes sports betting in the UK – no matter the time of day. Increasing investment in research, education and treatment ten-fold by 2022, funding treatment centres and using technology to intervene before a problem develops, alongside our existing behavioural analytics, brings to life our commitment to be the most trusted and enjoyable betting operator in the world. The industry should and can do more to protect the vulnerable, and today’s announcement demonstrates GVC’s commitment to delivering on that.– Kenny Alexander , GVC Holdings CEO

GVC will also improve its Changing for the Bettor responsible gambling campaign. The $5m project will see further investment, increased donations to problem gambling treatment centres, and its gamban software more available for free.

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