Jockey Club Football Betting Limited has been asked to avoid having soccer gambling advertising outside its off-course betting branches.

The Football Betting & Lotteries Commission called for the measure to meet the Government's objective of authorising football betting by diverting demand from the illegal channel to the regulated one without encouraging gambling.

At its meeting today, the commission also expressed concern over interactive football and horse racing games on the licensee's website, given their gambling connotations and appeal to adolescents. It said access should be restricted to betting account holders whose age and identity had been duly verified.

Press support essential

Taking into account the impact of gambling-related advertisements and information in the media on adolescents, the commission will write to editors to express its concern about the publication of odds on football matches in sports pages.

Acknowledging that a few newspapers have already separated gambling-related information from sports news, it will ask other newspapers to do the same, and to include suitable warning messages on gambling-related problems.

The commission tasked its Working Group on Code of Practice to deliberate on proposals raised by Gambling Watch on amendments to the Code of Practice under the licensing conditions for authorised football betting.

The commission proposed to organise regular tripartite discussions with Football Betting Limited and the major concern groups on gambling to exchange views on concerned issues.