BGT Host David Walliams Blasted For Gambling Site Promotion!

Britain’s Got Talent host and best-selling children’s author David Walliams has fallen foul of a slew of anti-gambling campaigners for his endorsement of a gambling website which borrows his ‘buzzers at the ready’ catchphrase to promote casino and slot games, including the popular Slingo.

The website, Britain’s Got Talent Games, is backed by the star-studded talent show star and the brand itself, and Walliams is the star of radio adverts promoting it, with an introduction stating: “Everyone’s favourite talent show has been given a star-studded slingo twist,” Slingo being the online games that combine elements of slot machines and bingo.

In another reference to BGT, it adds: “Buzzers at the ready!” with Walliams encouraging people to sign up, but the multi-millionaire’s gambling cash-grab has been met by serious criticism, one fan describing him as “scraping the bottom of the barrel” while another said: “Thought u were better than that”.

“Unimpressed if it is you and you are endorsing online gambling when you have such a high profile with kids & families #gamblingaware #ethics #mental- health #poverty”.

Liz Carter, a gambling addiction expert, said of Walliams adverts:

“David doing this means the site could potentially appeal to children. In a way it gives gambling a softer image,” adding: “Because David is a children’s author this could give the feeling of gambling being an innocent pastime – which of course it can be, but it can also lead to addiction.”

Walliams, who made a name for himself in the Little Britain comedy sketch show, has written 13 children’s books, including the likes of ‘Gangsta Granny’ and ‘Mr Stink’ – but experts fear his fame will lead underage gamblers to the BGT Game site.

“Adverts reach people who are vulnerable and could become addicted,” says Carter, while GamblingAWare CEO Marc Etches warned:

“We are concerned about the normalisation of gambling for children, in particular by the promotion of gambling by popular family entertainment programmes. In a world where smartphones give easy access to online gambling, we all share a responsibility to protect children from gambling-related harm and this includes those who profit from shows such as Britain’s Got Talent.”

The Daily Star quotes a study by the UK Gambling Commission in 2016 that found ‘450,000 children in England and Wales were betting on a weekly basis – with 9,000 of them likely to develop a problem.’

Neither Walliams’ nor his representatives have commented on the furore.