Appalling and shameless – MyStake in advert furore
“Best Online Casino Not on GamStop for UK Players” said the advertisement that circulated on GlobalNewswire a few days ago.
What? Are you serious? FFS! Aghast, I recoiled from what I’d just read on my laptop screen – a casino deliberately and blatantly targeting the vulnerable. What sort of company does this? What sort of senior person in a company signs off on this kind of thing? What sort of marketer comes up with the idea?
Appalling, and shameless.
What is GAMSTOP?
GAMSTOP is a free online self-exclusion tool that prevents players from using gambling websites and apps by companies licensed in Great Britain for a period of their choosing. It’s a valuable tool that can help problem gamblers put a stop or pause on their online gaming to help regain some control.
Cynical
To brazenly advertise that your casino is 'not on GamStop' is another level of cynical altogether. Think kind of... freebie drugs at the school gates to get kids hooked. If not quite the same, it's certainly in the same ball park.
Gambling Commission response
Once the story surfaced the Gambling Commission (UKGC) was quick to condemn the MyStake campaign.
“We are aware of the shameless advertising of unlicensed gambling targeting vulnerable people. We will continue to take action to disrupt the unlicensed market.”
The UKGC has recently upped the ante in tackling the murky, unlicensed market. Since April 2024 they have issued over 1,000 cease and desist notices. In the same period in collaboration with the major search engines over 80,000 URLs have been taken down – a massive increase on the previous year.
GAMSTOP response
In addition to encouraging players to use blocking software, GAMSTOP said they remain committed to defending against “unscrupulous operators targeting vulnerable consumers".
“We are in regular contact with the Gambling Commission’s intelligence and enforcement team, and we have seen encouraging progress in the successful removal of sites. We recognise that there is more work to do to remove all advertising of illegal or unlicensed casinos and to prevent the advertising in the first place.”
Industry-damaging
Gambling has a shady history. But thousands of people have worked tirelessly over decades to change that. Nowadays gaming (and gambling more broadly – online, offline, at the racecourse, in the bookies, wherever) is enjoyed safely by millions of people. Sure, a small percentage of gamblers run into problems but support on numerous levels is on hand – and will increase as the benefits of the levy are ultimately realised.
But stories like this will understandably shock the public while having some elements of the anti-gambling lobby rubbing their hands in glee.
Final words
Really… who on earth would think this is an ok kind of advertisement to run? It’s not funny, it’s not edgy, it’s not ‘out there’, it’s not clever. It’s cynical, appalling and totally shameless.