South Africa's Gambling Board and Advertising Watchdog Sign a Pact to Police Gambling Ads, Including Influencers

The National Gambling Board and the Advertising Regulatory Board have signed a memorandum of understanding to monitor gambling advertising across broadcast, outdoor and digital channels, with joint work on social media, influencer marketing and ads for illegal offshore sites. The advertising body says an updated Gambling Code is coming.

• The National Gambling Board (NGB) and the Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) have signed a memorandum of understanding on monitoring gambling advertising, according to a joint media statement dated 17 September and published by the NGB this week
• The agreement sets up cooperation on non-compliant gambling advertising, responses to breaches of advertising standards and referral of complaints between the two bodies
• It extends to cross-border and illegal online gambling advertising, including joint monitoring of social media, online platforms and influencer marketing
• ARB chief executive Gail Schimmel said the agreement comes as the ARB prepares to launch an updated Gambling Code
• The move follows the formation of a continent-wide network of African responsible gambling bodies

Regulation and Self-Regulation Meet on Gambling Ads

In South Africa, gambling is licensed by the provinces and overseen nationally by the NGB, while advertising content is governed by the ARB's Code of Advertising Practice, a self-regulatory system. The memorandum, according to the statement, creates a formal framework for the two bodies to cooperate in monitoring and addressing non-compliant gambling advertising, responding to breaches of advertising standards and referring complaints to each other. Each keeps its own mandate.

The agreement reaches beyond licensed operators. The statement says it covers cross-border and illegal online gambling advertising, including joint monitoring of social media, online platforms, influencer marketing and other digital channels, and the exchange of information on advertising trends, risks and regulatory concerns. It also provides for joint education and awareness campaigns.

"Gambling advertising has changed significantly in both its reach and the platforms through which it reaches the public. Social media, influencer marketing and digital platforms mean that gambling promotions can reach consumers more frequently and, in some instances, young and vulnerable audiences," said Lungile Dukwana, the NGB's acting chief executive, according to the statement. Gail Schimmel, the ARB's chief executive, said the memorandum "comes at an important time as we prepare to launch our updated Gambling Code".

The Updated Gambling Code Is the Part to Watch

A memorandum between a statutory board and a self-regulatory body does not create new rules on its own; what it creates is a referral route, so that an advert found by one can be acted on by the other. The substantive change will come with the ARB's updated Gambling Code, whose content the statement does not describe. Operators and affiliates advertising in South Africa, and the influencers they pay, should expect the new code to be enforced with the NGB's information behind it.

Offshore Advertising Is the Harder Target

Joint monitoring of social media and influencers aimed at illegal offshore sites addresses a gap that self-regulation alone struggles to close, because an unlicensed operator is not a member of the advertising system and has no reason to comply with its rulings. The NGB's role gives the partnership a path to the provincial licensing authorities and law enforcement, which the statement says the board already works with. Whether that produces takedowns rather than rulings will decide whether the agreement changes what South Africans see.

The two bodies have agreed to work together. The code the ARB publishes next will show what they intend to enforce.