Ladbrokes gambling ads have been shown to parents via a smartphone app used as a baby monitor, raising concerns among campaigners. The Guardian has revealed that this has sparked calls for urgent reforms to gambling advertising regulations, which have been notably absent from recent plans to overhaul the £11bn-a-year industry.
A user of the YCC365 Plus app, which functions as a home monitoring system, expressed shock upon seeing a Ladbrokes promotion offering a £30 welcome bonus, followed by a responsible gambling message: “take time to think.” This user, who works for a group advocating for stricter gambling rules, criticized the ad as inappropriate for the app’s audience.
Entain, the company behind Ladbrokes, defended the ad, stating it did not violate its guidelines. The company argued that the app was a home monitoring tool and was not aimed at under-18s. However, YCC365 Plus is frequently advertised on online retail sites as a baby monitor app, raising concerns about the app’s actual user demographic.
This incident is not the first time an Entain brand has been accused of targeting new parents. In 2023, the Guardian reported that Ladbrokes’ sister company, Coral, allegedly paid blogs aimed at new mothers to promote its online casino games. At the time, Entain denied targeting young mothers directly, clarifying that the blogs were published before it acquired Ladbrokes Coral.
Tom Fleming, a parent who raised concerns, works as a communications adviser for Gambling With Lives, a charity advocating for gambling reform. He described the experience of seeing a gambling ad while watching his baby as deeply troubling. “It’s something that’s there to keep my child safe, but it’s also feeding through a stream of offers for harmful free bets,” Fleming said. “There’s just no escape from these ads when they appear in such an innocent context.”
Campaigners and policymakers have used this incident to call for stricter controls on gambling advertising. Don Foster, a peer in the House of Lords, pointed out that the current system is “completely out of control” and criticized both government and industry self-regulation. He suggested that other countries have more stringent enforcement of gambling ad regulations.
Will Prochaska from the Coalition to End Gambling Ads added: “Targeting exhausted parents is yet another predatory tactic of the gambling industry. Urgent action is needed to prevent further harm to families and communities.”
In response, Entain stated, “We have compliance processes in place to ensure that our adverts do not appear on apps targeted at anyone under 18. The app in question, YCC365 Plus, is a home monitoring camera system and has therefore not been deemed to be targeted at under-18s.”
The Guardian has reached out to Apple and the maker of the YCC365 Plus app for comment.
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