This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Gambling companies will be banned from advertising on television during live sports if Labour wins the next general election, as part of a crackdown designed to tackle an addiction “epidemic”.

Labour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, accused the government of letting the UK’s estimated 430,000 problem gamblers down, as he announced a number of policies that would tighten up betting regulations.

The list of proposals, unveiled days before the party’s annual conference in Liverpool, include:

A £100m-a-year levy on gambling firms to fund addiction treatment.

A ban on the use of credit cards to place bets.

Rules to allow addicts to ask their bank to block gambling transactions.

New clinical guidelines on treatment for problem gamblers.

Watson said: “Problem gambling is Britain’s hidden epidemic and we must treat it as a public health emergency.”

He said existing regulations, introduced under the previous Labour government in 2007, were “not up to the job of protecting addicts”.

Tom Watson: Labour would ban gambling with credit cards Read more

“Gambling companies have to take more responsibility for harm caused by their products and contribute more to research and treatment,” he said.

“We must also face up to the negative effect the explosion in gambling advertising has had and act accordingly.

“The refusal of the current government to address any of these issues is letting problem gamblers and their families down.”

Labour said gambling ads would be prohibited from “whistle to whistle” of sports events, citing claims from academics that gamblers are more impulsive and reckless when betting on live games.

As it stands, betting companies voluntarily restrict their advertising to live sports only.

Research by the Guardian earlier this year found that this agreement still allowed for up to 90 minutes of gambling ads during the World Cup in Russia, prompting concerns about the impact on children.

Several senior figures in the gambling world support restricting their own ability to advertise, amid concerns about their public image in the wake of the debate over fixed-odds betting terminals.

William Hill’s chief executive, Philip Bowcock, said the industry should “collaborate with government to reach a long-term solution that also addresses public concerns”.

But a government gambling review concluded earlier this year that there was not enough evidence to support new curbs on advertising.

Broadcasters have also lobbied hard against a measure that would crimp revenue from gambling ads, worth up to £200m a year, according to a senior industry source.

Chris Skidmore, Conservative vice-chairman for policy, said: “Labour liberalised the gambling market when they were in power and have admitted that they were wrong.

“We are correcting Labour’s mistakes – ensuring tighter rules on gambling advertising, increasing protections around online gambling, launching a multimillion pound awareness campaign, commissioning research on the harms of problem gambling and slashing the maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals, which were introduced under Labour.

“This Conservative government is working to build a fairer society and ensure the most vulnerable are protected.”

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A spokesperson for the Advertising Association said Labour’s proposal would “have a damaging economic effect on our UK commercial media landscape, as well as make watching live sport more expensive and less accessible for the UK public”.

Labour also backed calls from the GambleAware charity to make firms pay a mandatory levy to fund research and treatment.

Watson said the existing voluntary levy should be increased tenfold to 1% of revenue and made compulsory, raising around £100m.

Other measures include asking banks to help customers block gambling transactions on their debit cards, a service already offered by Monzo and Barclaycard.

Labour would also ban the use of credit cards to place bets online.