Gambling adverts shown during Premier League matches have close to trebled compared to last year, according to new research from the University of Bristol business school.
Supported by a £4 million fund from GambleAware, the researchers counted 29,000 gambling messages in total, with West Ham’s match against Aston Villa containing closer to 6,500 gambling messages (about 30 every minute).
Moreover, the report found that 92% out of 391 content marketing adverts sent by major gambling adverts were not clearly identifiable as advertising.
The findings also revealed that match broadcasts were culpable for the majority of gambling messages (63%), which was followed by Sky Sports News with 2,014 messages (18%), and social media with 1,902 messages (17%).
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“Self-regulation of the gambling industry is completely failing. The gambling industry’s primary goal is profit, not public welfare,” said one of the reports lead authors Dr Rafaello Rossi
“So, of course they will not implement measures that actually reduce gambling and their profits. This is why the UK Government has to fulfil its duty and start protecting people from predatory and excessive gambling marketing.”
However, in a statement shared with the BBC, a Betting and Council spokesperson slammed the research, saying that it “fundamentally misunderstands both advertising, and the way in which it is strictly regulated”.
Gambling advertising on TV was legalised by Tony Blair’s Labour government in the Gambling Act 2005.
Speaking in parliament in March this year, MPs called for tougher gambling regulation, with Chingford MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith pushing for the creation of new codes to regulate the sector by the ASA.
