BGLC balancing business, social responsibility re gambling adverts

Vitus Evans, Executive Director of the Betting Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC), has said the goal of the commission’s ongoing public consultation on gambling advertising is one of balancing commercial interests and social responsibility.

He was speaking at the commission’s public consultation event, hosted by Dr Aggrey Irons, at the Terra Nova Hotel in St Andrew on November 20.

The BGLC, said Evans, is seeking to develop advertising guidelines which will allow for healthy competition, but at the same time help to minimise potential harm and encourage responsible gaming conduct.

The protection of public health and consumer welfare is paramount, he said, and the consultation research will help to identify measures that can be incorporated into the commission’s advertising guidelines to safeguard vulnerable individuals, such as children, prevent problem gaming, and ensure that advertisements provide accurate and responsible information.

The public consultation also involves an online e-survey that can be accessed at  www.bglcconsultation.com on the commission’s website, and will continue through to Friday, December 1. 2023.

All stakeholders, including consumers, betting, gambling and lottery operators and members of the public have been invited to share their views on the proposals in the consultation online.

At the well-attended consultation in St Andrew, Wendy Robertson, Manager, Corporate Affairs and Communication at the BGLC, disclosed that 81 per cent of the respondents to date have agreed with the proposal to introduce new advertising and marketing standards for gambling and gambling-related products.

When asked to give their reasons, it was expressed by respondents that an advertising code of conduct would be helpful if it was simple and easy to comply with, and does not stifle the creativity of the gaming industry.

It was also felt that it would be helpful for the protection of children, and prevent the public from being deceived in any way.

The BGLC said members of the public may choose to respond to any or all of the questions that are posted on the online survey, and all the responses will be considered.

The names of individuals, or the organisations they are responding on behalf, will be published on the commission’s website as part of the published responses to the consultation.

Among the attendee at the consultation in St Andrew were representatives of major gaming entities locally, as also medical personnel, including from the Nurses’ Association of Jamaica (NAJ) and former Chief Medical Officer, Dr Winston De La Haye, who is also a lecturer in psychiatry at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Jamaica and a consultant addiction and general psychiatrist at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI).

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