PORTUGAL CONSIDERS DAYTIME GAMBLING ADVERTISING BAN

Portuguese lawmakers are considering bills to ban gambling advertising, including online, between 07:00 and 22:30 daily. 

According to local media outlet The Portugal News, four separate bills are currently being debated that, if passed, would subject gambling advertising to similar restrictions as those for alcoholic drinks and tobacco. 

The bills have been submitted by the Left Bloc, PAN, PCP, and non-registered deputy Cristina Rodrigues. All four bills are said to be similar in wording, and all four include the daytime advertising ban. The bill submitted by the Left Bloc also includes a ban on advertising scratch cards – which the Portuguese spend more money on, per capita, than any other Europeans. 

Cristina Rodrigues commented: “We propose that it is only possible to advertise this type of game after 22:30 and until 07:00, and it’s proposed that, similar to what happens with tobacco packages, the bulletins of these games also have a warning as to the fact that they are liable to create dependency.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Thanks to the increasing media attention on problem gambling in Portugal, like elsewhere, it seems unlikely the proposed daytime advertising ban will meet much in the way of political resistance.

Staying with gambling advertising bans, last month the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, instructed Transport for London (TfL) to ban gambling advertising across its extensive network.