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Gambling: New rules to protect you from betting ads

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A child looking at a tabletImage source, Getty Images

Rules around gambling adverts are going to get tougher.

The aim is to protect children and young people from "irresponsible" ads that might encourage them to gamble.

It's illegal for anyone under 18 years old to gamble and children and young people shouldn't be targeted by adverts.

These new standards aim to make it more difficult for companies to do this.

The rules will mean characters that are "common in children's cartoons" can't be used, such as pirates, animals and fairy-tale characters including Little Red Riding Hood.

There are also stricter guidelines on the use of celebrities, social media stars and sportspeople.

Media caption,

You can run into big problems when gambling- find out how to stay safe with this video.

They've been put together by the Committees of Advertising Practice and will be enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority - the organisations in charge of which ads can appear in the UK.

The rules will start in April and will also cover social networks and other online platforms.

What do you think of the new rules?

Do you think more needs doing to stop gambling ads aimed at kids?

Let us know in the comments below.