Full disclosure from the start here, this blog post is a bit of fun.
It does demonstrate how easy it is to fall foul of the very strict gambling regulations in this country, even unintentionally, but mostly, it’s just a chance to have a bit of a laugh at the regulator’s expense.
Bookies are fined huge sums, and fairly regularly too, for failing to meet the high standards quite rightly laid out by the UKGC, but what happens when the governing body for gambling in the UK slips up and breaks their own rules?
I’m guessing they aren’t going to fine themselves.
It does raise an interesting question too, though.
Images of Children and Gambling
One of the golden rules of marketing compliance for gambling companies, is that they must not, under any circumstances, design marketing material that might appeal to or feature anyone under the age of 18.
That means no cartoon mascots, no association with products aimed at kids, and absolutely no images of children.
It’s a big complete no no.
So when the UKGC put out a tweet that included a GIF of a child celebrating at a football match, you can understand why some people (apparently anti-gambling campaigners) might have questioned the choice.
I didn’t see it, but even just reading about it I shook my head and laughed under my breath at the lack of foresight.
If gambling companies aren’t allowed to show images of children, then the governmental body that regulates them probably shouldn’t do it either, and surely every member of their staff knows this?
The tweet was actually written to encourage bettors to stick to licensed bookmakers during the World Cup, which always sees a spike in betting activity, and not to be tempted by black market sites.
It even contained a link to the UKGC’s list of regulated bookies so that anyone reading could check their chosen site was a trusted one, so it was a well intentioned tweet… but you would think the UKGC would know their own rules.
Innocent Mistakes and Oversights
To be fair, the UKGC doesn’t offer gambling services and the tweet was taken down as soon as their error was pointed out to them.
So this isn’t really that big of a deal but we all love an opportunity to laugh at those who lead us don’t we – just look at the hassle politicians get when they fall over, don’t know the price of a loaf of bread, or fail to eat a bacon sandwich – so it’s probably ok to smirk at this one.
The commission has since replaced the tweet with another featuring a compliant image, and stated that the original was an error:
“We realise this was an oversight and undermined an important consumer protection message. We apologise to anyone who may have been offended by unintended association and have now deleted the tweet.”
There’s not a lot else they could have done really, so aside from a little embarrassment on their part, there’s no harm done.
The fact that it happened at all is interesting though, because it demonstrates how any big company or organisation can make an honest mistake.
The UKGC are not a money making organisation so their is no basis for anyone to accuse them of foul play. However, you can bet your bottom dollar that if it had been a gambling firm who had made this gaff there would have been a much bigger outcry, and accusations of calculated attempts to snare vulnerable people into gambling.
It just goes to show that anyone can make a mistake when they have an off day, or when they are enjoying a global sports tournament and think a GIF of a kid enjoying the World Cup is cute.
Regulation should be tough, of course it should, but sometimes genuine mistakes happen, to all of us.