Bristol City Center Aerial View

Bristol City Council bans gambling advertising

The Bristol City Council has banned all forms of gambling advertising.

Various other advertising types will also be banned as part of the council’s updated policies towards advertising and sponsorships. 

Gambling ads will now be outlawed both on and offline, including on social media and at numerous venues. 

“We take the health of our residents seriously” 

Besides gambling, advertising related to food high in fat and sugar content will also be banned in Bristol. Payday loans and alcohol promotions are also going to be stopped. 

It’s believed that the revenue loss from these advertising bans could total £150,000. 

Commenting on the policy changes, Councillor and Deputy Mayor for Bristol Asher Craig said: “We take the health of our residents seriously and have been working with our local public health experts for some time to find ways to support the health of our citizens.

“One of the ways we intend to do this is to restrict the most harmful types of advertising from city centre banners, digital screens and bus stop adverts.”

Where will the bans be applicable? 

According to the Bristol City Council, its policies are “the most complete of its kind in England”. 

Advertisers promoting the products mentioned above will not be able to do so on 17 hoardings and 180 bus shelters throughout the city. They will also be banned from advertising in museums, libraries, at customer service points and on social media. 

Gambling ads, in addition to the others, will also be banned at parks and green spaces. The only exception is if there is an “outlet or event operating in that space”. 

Should advertising be permitted during an event, the council said that it “‘it should be within the boundaries of the event space and form part of the hire agreement”. 

Discussing the advertising ban further, Craig said: “By putting people’s health first, we have made Bristol’s policy one of the strongest in the country, leading by example and showing willingness to take a potential hit on our income in order to support people’s health and wellbeing.”

Further calls for gambling advertising bans in recent weeks 

Last week, the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) called for daytime television gambling sponsorships to be banned. Those calls followed previous ones for an end to partnerships with sports clubs, plus other suggestions. 

The group said: “We are very concerned that television companies are promoting gambling – we have ourselves seen first-hand the harm and devastation that gambling can cause to young people’s lives, families and communities.” 

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