Gambling ads have come under fire as MPs call on the UK government to “commit to cutting the volume” of advertisements in Premier League football stadiums and at other sporting events.
The call is the latest move to protect consumers following growing concerns over the UK’s issues with gambling addiction.
The committee of culture, media and sport (CMS) revealed that nearly 7,000 gambling ads appeared during just six Premier League matches in the opening weekend of the 2023 season, as it called for a reduction in the number of ads being shown.
It highlighted the need for “further regulation” and a more “precautionary approach”, adding that vulnerable people should be shielded from such high levels of exposure to betting companies.
“More should be done to shield both children and people who have experienced problem gambling from what often seems like a bombardment of advertising branding at football and other sporting events,” said committee chair Caroline Dinenage.
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The cross-party committee recommended that a new code of conduct should expressly include reducing betting adverts in venues, as well as dedicating more space to safer gambling messaging. It also called for “a more precautionary approach” than was outlined in a white paper earlier this year, when the UK government ‘stepped back’ from introducing firm restrictions on gambling advertising.
MPs described the repeated delay to the publication of the code as “highly regrettable”, urging the government and all relevant sporting bodies to publish it “without further undue delay”.
Football club sponsorship by gambling companies will remain unaffected by the code, with eight Premier League clubs currently being sponsored by gambling brands, in deals worth as much as £60m per year.
Earlier this year Premier League sides voluntarily agreed to ban front-of-shirt gambling sponsors from the end of the 2025-26 season. However, these only account for around 7% of the total number of betting ads recorded during a game, with clubs still able to feature the sponsors on shirt sleeves and across LED perimeter advertising.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has spent the last year enforcing its own tough new rules on gambling advertising which came into force in October 2022. Ads were banned from including any content likely to be of strong appeal to under-18s, which meant they could no longer use certain footballers and celebrities.
Since then, the ASA has published numerous rulings on the subject, with complaints against betting giants such as Ladbrokes being upheld for appealing to an underage audience.
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One of the biggest problems that I see every day on the TV is sports people and Ex sports people on gambling adverts mostly Ex football players that have made lots of money playing the game now milking the advertisers for more and more cash this is disgusting knowing people will say he is doing it so I will the greedy Ex football players don’t give a T… as long as they are getting cash