AI sweep of gambling ads to launch in the UK

The new system will scan social media platforms for gambling ads that breach the CAP Code.

UK.- A new compliance check on content marketing is being launched in the UK. From June 11, the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) will collaborate with social media platforms to run a sweep of gambling ads using an AI-based Active Ad Monitoring System.

The sweep will specifically focus on detecting any gambling content marketing that is considered to be of strong appeal to under 18s.

The Active Ad Monitoring system captures ads from social media, search and display using a mix of public sources, the CAP’s own internal monitoring tools and proprietary datasets. Machine learning models are configured to spot the ads that are most likely to be relevant to a given issue, or to have specific compliance problems, flagging them for evaluation by human reviewers, who use a web interface that allows them to quickly assess issues, and identify problematic examples for  action 

At the moment, the system is being rolled out only on specific subsets of high-priority issues the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is working on, but it already processes more than 100,000 ads each month, the CAP said.

The CAP said in its announcement: “If we identify ads that break the rules, we will require you to amend or remove the ad immediately and, if you fail to comply, we will impose sanctions, which may include referral to the platform hosting the ad and/or the Gambling Commission.”

The watchdog reminded operators that all gambling advertising, including consumer facing social media posts, must be socially responsible and must comply with the advertising codes issued by the Committee of Advertising Practice and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice.

These rules are designed to ensure that marketing communications for gambling products are socially responsible, with particular regard to the need to protect children, young persons and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by advertising that features or promotes gambling.

Gambling Commission involvement

The Gambling Commission has also notified operators about the sweep. It noted that it works closely with the ASA and that if a gambling firm is found to be in serious or repeated breach of rules it can take enforcement action, including issuing fines.

It advised licensed operators to consult the ASA’s guidance within the enforcement notice and the body’s content marketing remit statement.