Mr Green Ltd CEO Jesper Kärrbrink believes the gambling industry needs to "keep the balance" with advertising – and only has itself to blame for current criticism.

Gambling advertising has received a wide array of opposition in recent months, with the Italian coalition government declaring a total ban (effective from 1 January 2019) and Australia prohibiting gambling adverts during live sport.

Politicians in both the UK and Spain have called for similar action and Kärrbrink feels operators cannot be surprised if people are "annoyed."

He told Gambling Insider in an exclusive interview: "The industry has itself to blame to some extent. We have been polluting TV channels with the same message all the time. Deposit here and get 500 free spins, etc. Finally, it will hit back.

"There are a lot of people annoyed with gambling advertising. Gaming is an entertainment product and a lot of people are consuming it and we have to make sure that we do what we can to keep the balance."

In keeping the balance, the Mr Green Ltd CEO acknowledges the industry needs to diversify from methods which can easily come across as "aggressive" and "greedy."

He explained: "There are few industries where people have so many views on these things.

"There are few other industries where people have so many opinions. I think we as an industry have a lot to blame ourselves for; being too aggressive and having a business model of buying new customers all the time. It’s not sustainable in the long term and we come across as greedy and loud.”

The full interview with Kärrbrink will appear in Gambling Insider’s Malta Focus magazine. Register here for free access.