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Watch: Selling the Dream, a webinar by SBC Digital
Moderated by SBC Affiliates Magazine’s editor, the SBC Digital Webinar brought together an impressive panel: Richard Dennys (Game Lounge), Richard Hayler (IBAS), Savvas Iliopoulos (OPAP SA), Tracy Parker (Responsible Gambling Council), and Simon Vincze (Casino Guru). Their focus: the uncomfortable truth that in today’s attention economy, advertising doesn’t just sell products but it shapes values, culture, and, increasingly, vulnerabilities.
When regulation lags behind
Richard Hayler opened with a blunt observation: “Regulation moves at a bureaucratic pace – innovation moves at the speed of light.” The gap, he argued, leaves consumers exposed. By the time regulators gather data, run consultations, and issue reports, the industry has already evolved.
Hayler suggested that regulators must start funding those with lived experience of gambling harm to help guide messaging in real time. “These voices are our moral compass,” he said. “They can see what data alone misses.” Without that, public sentiment swings sharply – painting gambling ads as social pollution rather than regulated entertainment.” The backlash, he warned, could invite sweeping bans that drive players underground and unprotected.
The Illusion of the ban
Simon Vincze of Casino Guru dismantled one of the industry’s most popular myths — that banning advertising fixes the problem. “You can’t hide gambling by hiding the adverts,” he said. Citing Italy’s blanket ban on gambling sponsorships, he noted that it only succeeded in driving players toward unlicensed offshore operators. “The demand didn’t disappear; it just became invisible to the regulator.”
Richard Dennys of Game Lounge, ever the realist, painted a darker picture. “I can open Telegram right now and access an unlicensed crypto casino in three clicks,” he said. “When you shut one door, another, less regulated one opens.”
The younger generation, he added, is particularly elusive. “They aren’t watching linear TV or stadium ads. They’re following influencers on TikTok and Discord.” The message was clear: censorship is a blunt instrument for a problem that requires precision.
Beyond gambling: The digital health crisis
For Tracy Parker of the Responsible Gambling Council, the ethics of gambling ads cannot be separated from the wider issue of digital health. “This isn’t just a gambling problem,” she said. “It’s part of a broader digital wellness crisis — the same questions we’re asking about social media, influencer culture, and now, AI.”
Parker drew parallels between gambling marketing and the algorithms that drive online engagement. “The same mechanics that keep users scrolling can keep them betting,” she warned. “We need a cross-sector response – gambling doesn’t exist in a vacuum.”
Dennys echoed the sentiment, comparing the moral dilemma to that surrounding AI platforms. “It’s the same paradigm,” he said. “Where do we draw the line between harmless entertainment and potential harm?”
Technology and the cure
Savvas Iliopoulos of OPAP offered a more optimistic view. “Technology isn’t the enemy,” he said. “It’s how we use it.” With AI and big data, operators can personalise messages to promote healthy play – not excessive engagement.
“Personalisation can be forged for good,” he said. “We can use the same tools that drive profit to protect players – through reminders, self-checks, and timeouts.” His message was pragmatic: technology should enhance experience, not exploit it.
Education over prohibition
The panel agreed that consumer education remains the industry’s most underused weapon. “Players need to understand the difference between licensed and unlicensed sites,” Hayler said. “Too often, they find out the hard way.”
Dennys noted what he called “sympathy narratives” – industry campaigns that plead for understanding rather than offer protection. “No one wants to hear about how tough it is for operators,” he said. “They want honesty and information, not spin.”
Parker added that education must start early and go beyond “responsible gambling” slogans. “We need gambling literacy, not moral panic,” she said. “That means teaching people to recognise risk, not fear it.”
Thin line between persuasion and pressure
When asked where that ethical line lies, Iliopoulos offered a simple definition: “Persuasion celebrates play; manipulation distorts reality.” Transparency, he said, must underpin all creative messaging, clear odds, real outcomes, and the honest likelihood of winning.
Vincze recalled a recent Slovak campaign that nearly got it right. “The ad was about the thrill of the unknown,” he said. “But it ended with the slogan, ‘All it takes is to begin.’ That one line turned excitement into temptation.”
It’s in those micro-moments – the slogans, the imagery, the tone – that ethics often falter.
Collective moral duty
By the session’s close, one consensus had emerged: the responsibility cannot rest solely with regulators. “We can’t outsource ethics,” Dennys said. “Every link in the chain — operators, affiliates, influencers, and platforms – must take ownership of the message.”
Hayler summed it up with characteristic precision. “The tools exist to make advertising relevant and responsible,” he said. “What’s needed is discipline – and honesty. Because deep down, most advertisers already know when they’ve crossed the line.”
And that may be the hardest truth of all. Advertising has always sold dreams – of wealth, success, happiness. But in an era of algorithmic persuasion and blurred accountability, the industry must decide whether it’s still selling the dream, or quietly selling out.
Because when influence becomes invisible, so too does integrity.
The full SBC Digital webinar is available to watch on the Game Lounge YouTube channel.
