Anti-Gaming Billboards in South Australia to Be Taken Down

Hard choice

South Australian Government admits anti-gaming messages can’t be substantiated.

Gaming industry representatives were outraged last week over South Australian anti-gambling public service announcements. The billboards suggested online and mobile social gaming could encourage people to take up iPad gambling.

Efforts of the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (IGEA) to get the billboards taken down were successful, as South Australian officials finally caved in to their requests.

The advertisements showed a young girl in front of a felt-covered table with chips and cards, holding an iPad, with the message “Gambling starts with games” written under the image. IGEA representatives claimed the billboards don’t follow the government’s own advertising guidelines, which require that such statements are “able to be substantiated”.

Campaign built on “questionable research”

The billboards were meant to serve as a public announcement and directed people to a website warning parents about the fact that playing social games can encourage their kids to take up mobile casino gambling. Such games, claimed the website, gave kids “the opportunity to practice gambling.”

IGEA representatives spoke up against the defamatory campaign posters, showing that there was no real research to back up these powerful statements. “We acknowledge that immediately and we’re remedying that,” admitted premier Jay Weatherill.

At the end of last week, it looked like the gaming industry had won this battle. However, some believe that a war is about to go down, as South Australia seems more and more convinced that gambling is harmful.