Gambling, vape and fossil fuel ads would be barred from council sites

Adverts for gambling, tobacco, vapes, payday loans and fossil fuel companies would be barred from advertising space and sponsorship that Brighton & Hove City Council^1,2,3 owns or manages, under a policy going to the council’s Cabinet on Thursday 15 October. Cabinet will be asked to approve it, and to sign the council up to the Coalition to End Gambling Ads.

It would cover council-controlled space including websites, social media, publications, buildings, vehicles, highways, the seafront, hoardings and digital screens. It would also apply to sponsorship of council services and events.

What would be banned

The outright bans in the draft policy cover political organisations and lobbying groups, tobacco and nicotine products, addictive substances, weapons, payday loans and exploitative financial products, pornography, gambling, and companies involved in fossil fuel production. There are narrow exceptions for stop smoking campaigns and for NHS-endorsed sexual health content.

Alcohol, other financial services and brands with particularly harmful environmental impacts would be judged case by case. Alcohol ads would need to highlight responsible drinking. The council’s existing limits on adverts for food and drink high in fat, sugar or salt carry over into the new policy.

The Coalition to End Gambling Ads has almost 20 UK councils as members, the report says. Joining costs nothing, and the council can decide how involved it gets.

Money, and the limits

The policy is also about money. The report says the council’s advertising potential has “not been maximised”, and the aim is to turn it into recurring income for the council’s budget. If Cabinet agrees, a pilot would run before the end of the year on three to five low-risk sites, using wraps, banners and hoardings to test demand. It also says the policy “does not itself guarantee income”.

Some ads sit outside its reach. Bus shelter advertising runs under an existing contract and is excluded until that contract is renewed or varied. Property the council has leased out in full is also excluded, unless agreed case by case. Privately owned sites aren’t covered either, and the policy notes there are about 30 free-standing digital advertising panels in former BT phone boxes, run by One Digital, that it cannot control.

The council would review the policy annually, or sooner if the law or public health priorities change.