Gambling ads during Premier League opening weekend nearly triple, study shows

Gambling messages during the opening play of this season’s Premier League person astir trebled since past twelvemonth – putting fans including children astatine risk, according to researchers.

They said the findings item the detonation of gambling selling and however the industry’s existent self-regulation is failing.

Leading experts and politicians are present calling connected the Government to prioritise nationalist information and marque tackling the contented a apical goal.

The report, led by the University of Bristol, shows shot fans are seeing gambling manufacture selling crossed TV, vigor and societal media during unrecorded lucifer sum and related quality reports.

Nearly 30,000 gambling messages were counted successful full crossed these channels during a azygous play – astir triple the 10,999 recorded implicit the aforesaid play past year.

Co-lead writer Dr Raffaello Rossi, a selling researcher from the University of Bristol, said: “This caller grounds shows however overmuch the manufacture is retired of power – with gambling ads present flooding Premier League coverage.

“It’s wide that the industry’s effort to self-regulate is wholly inadequate and tokenistic.

“Despite having had years to enactment successful spot effectual measures to support consumers, the gambling manufacture continues to prioritise nett implicit safety.”

During unrecorded broadcasts of six Premier League matches, findings showed gambling messages, including logos and adverts shown during unrecorded matches, much than trebled from 6,966 astatine the aforesaid clip past twelvemonth to 23,690 this twelvemonth – a 240% increase.

During the West Ham United v Aston Villa match, the researchers counted 6,491 gambling messages – equalling astir 30 per minute.

In erstwhile studies, gambling messages peaked astatine astir 3,500 per match.

The Betting and Gaming Council said the instauration of a “whistle-to-whistle” prohibition connected TV betting commercials during unrecorded athletics earlier the 9pm watershed had seen a autumn of 97% successful the fig of adverts seen by children.

Lord Foster of Bath, who chairs Peers for Gambling Reform, said: “These statistic uncover the woeful inadequacies of manufacture self-regulation.

“It is simply not bully enough. The Government and the Gambling Commission indispensable instantly enactment to betterment gambling advertising, sponsorship and marketing.

“With governmental will, these reforms tin beryllium implemented present without the request for caller legislation.”

Replicating past year’s investigation, a 10-strong squad of researchers analysed astir 24 hours of unrecorded lucifer coverage.

This was 15 hours of Sky Sports News coverage, 15 hours of TalkSport vigor broadcasts, and gambling advertizing posted connected Instagram, Facebook, and X from August 16-19.

The study revealed however gambling operators are utilizing societal media contented selling to scope ample audiences, with worldly being viewed much than 24 cardinal times.

“Our probe highlights the request for the Government to intervene and determination beyond the industry’s voluntary measures, to afloat guarantee children and young radical are protected,” co-lead writer Dr Jamie Wheaton said.

Former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton, who experienced gambling problems himself, said: “Gambling advertizing during shot events has go relentless, and this survey intelligibly shows conscionable however retired of power it has go successful the UK.”

Sir Iain Duncan Smith, erstwhile vice seat of the Gambling Harms All Party Parliamentary Group, added: “This Government and the Gambling Commission indispensable enactment swiftly to present regularisation susceptible of meaningfully reducing vulnerability to gambling advertizing and assistance prevention lives.”

A spokesperson for the Big Step run said: “For each time the Government lets this continue, they excessively are complicit successful the harm to truthful galore young fans who conscionable privation to ticker the game, not beryllium lured into addiction. It indispensable stop.”

A Betting and Gaming Council spokesperson said the survey had “fundamentally misunderstood” some advertizing and its regulation.

“The erstwhile authorities stated probe did not found a causal nexus betwixt vulnerability to advertizing and the improvement of occupation gambling,” helium said.

“Betting advertizing and sponsorship indispensable comply with strict guidelines and safer gambling tools and signposts to assistance for those acrophobic astir their betting, are regularly and prominently displayed.

“BGC members already perpetrate 20% of TV, vigor and integer advertizing to safer gambling messaging.

“Independent probe by the Gambling Commission recovered determination was a ‘significant decline’ successful young people’s vulnerability to gambling advertisements past year, portion the ASA recovered children are seeing less gambling adverts connected TV.”

A spokesperson for the Advertising Standards Authority said: “Protecting radical from imaginable gambling advertising-related harm is an ever-present precocious precedence for us.

“We’re perpetually undertaking our ain enactment to show and tackle the number of gambling ads that interruption our rules with a peculiar absorption connected the request to support from being harmed oregon exploited children, young radical and different susceptible people.”

A Government spokeswoman said: “We recognise the interaction harmful gambling tin person connected individuals and their families and are perfectly committed to strengthening protections for those astatine risk.

“Ministers are presently considering the afloat scope of gambling policy, including connected advertizing and sponsorship, and volition update successful owed course.”