Consequences of gambling advertising ban deepen the crisis on the legal market

The first months of the ban on gambling advertising demonstrated the problematic nature of this initiative. Negative consequences were immediately apparent, and this was quite expected. The direct ban on gambling advertising for legal gambling organisers without developing alternative methods of promoting their services almost immediately led to the seizure of the information space by illegal operators. As a result, the main goal of the ban - combating the spread of gambling addiction - was not achieved, as illegal gamblers are the main cause of it. However, the negative consequences of the ban are not limited to this.

Every process has its own stages of development. If a certain process has been launched and its negative consequences begin to manifest themselves, they must be addressed at an early stage, otherwise they will eventually lead to a crisis. The ban on gambling advertising is a phenomenon that clearly confirms this. It was introduced under the pretext of achieving an important goal - stopping the spread of gambling addiction, particularly among the military. However, the way this ban was implemented has actually created more problems.

Firstly, illegal operators became much stronger. They immediately took advantage of the fact that the legal organisers, in compliance with the law, curtailed their advertising and marketing campaigns. This vacuum was immediately filled by illegal operators, who invested a lot of money in promoting their brands and services, especially online. And although now, thanks to the efforts of CRGL, social media platforms have begun to combat their advertising, the presence of illegal operators in the online segment is still very significant.

Secondly, the direct consequence of the increased presence of illegal operators in the information space is the increase in customers on their platforms, which directly contradicts the key goal of the ban - the fight against gambling addiction. Unable to break through the information noise created by illegal operators with their advertising spam, legal organisers lose players, who, in turn, lose any guarantees of protection of their personal data, funds, etc.

Third, the ban on advertising kills competition. And this is not only because legal brands are at a disadvantage compared to illegal ones due to the ban, but also because newer and smaller legal brands are unable to compete with the big legal brands. There are a number of small companies that have recently obtained licences, but having lost the ability to advertise their services, they cannot attract new customers and compete with large brands that, even in the absence of advertising, can "stay afloat" thanks to their established image.

Fourth, global brands are used to investing in the media presence of their markets. Moreover, when entering a new market, powerful advertising campaigns are a must-have for gambling brands. However, being unable to make a strong statement in our market due to the advertising ban, they quickly lose interest in it.

Today, it is more than obvious that the ban on gambling advertising has created many problems for legal businesses, while failing to address the main issue for which it was introduced - the fight against the spread of gambling addiction. That is why it is important to revise the format of this ban and find an appropriate compromise that, on the one hand, will allow legal brands to be present in the media, and, on the other hand, will take away the opportunity for illegal operators to advertise.