The CofE has called for a ban on betting adverts before the 9pm watershed, in a bid to tackle the growing ‘moral crisis’ facing children and young people. Rev Alan Smith said, ‘There is a lot of evidence that young people are seeing extraordinary levels of advertising, which is normalising and socialising gambling. That is a moral issue, one which we as a society need to stand back and reflect about. We will reap a terrible harvest if gambling is “normalised” for children and young people.’ The Church is calling for social media giants to take greater responsibility. According to official figures, children see an average of 185 gambling adverts a year, and one in five adverts broadcast across 25 British football matches are for betting firms. The world has changed dramatically, with a huge rise in gambling adverts on every sort of media.