Camberwell residents have spoken out after a gambling advertisement was displayed on a main road this week.
Local resident Chris Rowell took to Twitter on Thursday to highlight his outrage over the poster, which sparked the conversation. He said: “Really depressing to see this gambling advert in the middle of Camberwell! Is there some way we can protest against this?”
The poster in question is an advertisement for Virgin’s betting agency, showing the message “Big game offers this festive season”. It is located on a scaffolding above a charity shop on Church Street, just off of Camberwell Green Park.
While some are frustrated over the type of poster, others are upset with the awkward location of the scaffolding which holds it. The scaffolding reaches far out onto the pavement, obstructing people walking by.
Advertisements are typically allowed on the scaffolding, as an advertisement for Lycamobile was displayed on the same scaffolding in November.
The poster displays its deal ‘Jingle Belters’, that discounts bets over the Christmas season. The season is typically popular for betting agencies, due to the Premier League airing multiple matches on Boxing Day. Messages also seen on the poster are ‘BeGambleAware.com’ and ‘Please Bet Responsibly 18+’. But these messages were not enough to stop residents from being concerned over the poster.
According to GOV.UK, April 2021 has seen a peak in betting receipts reaching £415m compared to £225m receipts in April 2020. However, receipts dropped to a low of £100m in September 2021 compared to the £414m peak in September 2020.
Resident Sean Walsh responded to Rowell: “As much as it is an eyesore, the sheer number of bookies and slot machine shops around [Camberwell Green] is a travesty to the area. Wish there was more the council could do but understand their hands are tied.”
Thirteen official betting stores, also known as bookmakers, are currently located in Camberwell. One betting store is located just doors away from where Rowell captured a shot of the poster.
Three slot machine shops, MERKUR Slots, Admiral Casino, and MERKUR Cashino, are also situated around Camberwell.
Virgin, the advertiser, started their betting business in 2019. The business only runs online, but has become a prominent platform in sports betting, especially during COVID-19.
Virgin Bet also hold a system that withdraws a minimum deposit of £10 and has a maximum deposit of £10,000 on debit cards, in attempt to assure customers that their spending will be controlled. This comes after a plummet of the betting business that occurred in 2020, where the 75 per cent of betting profit from sports was in danger after football and horse racing was suspended.
However, the general promoting of gambling and scaffolding obstructing pavements in the area is still seen as an issue in Camberwell. Ben Pook responded to Rowell saying: “Hopefully this isn’t the start of a parade of giant scaffolding adverts all long Camberwell Church Street”.
