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The committee’s previous 2020 report had recommended banning gambling ads on team shirts, training kits, stadium advertising and broadcasts, although on-course advertising for horse and greyhound racing was exempt.
The report rejected argumentswarning that advertising restrictions would drive consumers to illicit gambling sites. They citied weak evidence for mass migration to illegal operators following advertising limits.
“Interviews [ … ] with representatives of state monopoly operators across European jurisdictions consistently suggested that advertising restrictions did not lead to consumer migration towards illegal operators,” the report said.
About The Wildwood Curse
White Hat Gaming paused the ads during the investigation and argued that HLTV’s audience is primarily adult and focused on professional competitive gaming rather than casual play, which tends to attract minors.
HLTV corroborated this, highlighting its editorial tone as adult-oriented.
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.
What is The Wildwood Curse?
This data was cross referenced with SimilarWeb traffic analysis to confirm the scale of activity. In some markets, the number of illegal sites being actively marketed was much higher than those that have local licences to operate.
This was true of France, Portugal, Netherlands, Germany, Cyprus, Belgium, Spain, among others.
Nicole cut her teeth in local news rooms at home in Gibraltar, and helped to establish the peninsula’s first online-only broadcaster.