Fa Cai Shen

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The ASA reviewed whether the ads were directed at under-18s through their placement or content. Its rules prohibit advertising through media where more than 25% of the audience is likely to be under 18. 

While the audience data did not conclusively define the website’s age demographics, the regulator noted small percentages of under-18s in HLTV’s social channels but found the website’s content and presentation clearly targeted adults.

Ultimately, the ASA ruled that the ads did not breach CAP Code rules 16.1 or 16.3.13 and took no further action.

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A potential MGD rise was first reported in the The Financial Times, as Chancellor John Healey is allegedly looking to raise the tax, on the recommendation of the Social Market Foundation, which proposed the increase in a recent report.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham had already announced the government’s intention to scrap “aim to permit” for betting shops as well as insisting that AGCs will now need planning permission to function.

In her letter David warned another tax increase, on top of April’s RGD increase to 40% of GGR, could increase its operational expenses for retail by £100 million annually.

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Taken together, the cases provide further ammunition for the anti-gambling lobby at a time when it is already facing political pressure, tax increases and demands for tighter restrictions. Each apparently avoidable failure makes it harder for the industry to argue that existing regulation is sufficient.

Yet Dan Waugh, partner at Regulus Partners, pushes back against the idea that enforcement notices reveal a fundamentally non-compliant sector.

“Operators failing compliance checks is never a good look,” he says. Campaigners often claim that financial sanctions are priced in and that the Commission should revoke more licences, although Waugh does not believe operators view settlements merely as a cost of doing business.