Bingo drives growth in UK gambling advertising
Ofcom study shows bingo represents 38% of all gambling advertising and totalled 1.4m TV ads in 2012
Gambling TV adverts have grown six-fold over a five-year period driven by a surge in bingo ads with the vertical accounting for over 38% of all gambling TV spots in 2012, according to a new study by Ofcom.
The total number of gambling advertising spots has increased from 234,000 in 2007 to just under 1.4m in 2012. According to the study, gambling ads made up 4.1% of all commercial TV spots in 2012 up from 2.9% in 2011.
Despite a rise in advertising across all verticals, bingo and online casino and poker represented by far the largest proportion of gambling ads with a combined total of 68%. Sports betting advertising accounted for just 7% while lottery and scratch cards accounted for 25%.
Bingo advertising was also shown to be targeted at daytime slots with 61% of ads shown between 9.30am and 5pm compared to just 8.5% of sports betting and 0.1% of casino and poker ads during that time slot.
The latest report by Ofcom comes as spending on TV advertising by bingo operators has doubled over the past three years, according to a report by data company Nielsen.
Tombola was the biggest spending brand between January and April this year with an outlay £2.9m, closely followed by Gamesys (£2.3m) and Cashcade brand Foxy Bingo (also £2.3m).
The Nielsen report revealed that operators spent nearly £19m across the first four months of 2013, representing a 48.6% year-on-year increase, leaving the industry on track to more than double the £26m spent throughout 2010.
This year has seen a number of high-profile advertising campaigns by bingo operators including a seven-figure sum on TV advertising by Gaming Realms for its new brand Bingo Godz.