CEGA Press Home Football Betting Advertising Case; F1 Point Made

Football betting advertising has become normalised by gambling brands, and it needs to stop immediately. That is according to Nick Harvey, the Director of Communications for the Coalition to End Gambling Ads (CEGA).

The calls have been growing louder over the past few months to curb the influence of football betting advertising and sponsorship, and the CEGA have been a prominent voice in the thorny debate. Harvey though is adamant that the evidence of harm is patently clear, and betting advertising is putting generations of men and young boys at risk.

A public health issue

Although approximately £2 billion is spent on betting advertising and marketing in football each year, the problem appears to be a deep-rooted public health issue. Just a couple of months ago, Local Health and Global Profits (LHGP), a research group funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), attested that the scope of gambling advertising should cover all sports.

They argued that gambling advertising on online and digital platforms should be barred, as companies are resorting to “nudge” tactics to give operators more “disproportionate power” to feed more regular gambling habits. The advertising that the CEGA infers appears to be male-dominated; however, the stats are quite stark.

Harvey used an op-ed piece for Politics Home to depict how young people are in grave danger, with more than 10% of those aged 18-24 having a serious gambling problem. He noted that tens of thousands of children in Britain experience betting issues, while 34% of those aged 11-17 gambled with their own money. Added to that, Harvey said there are hundreds of gambling-related suicides committed each year.

Unnecessary exposure for children

While figures have claimed that men who gamble are twice as likely to be harmed as women who bet, Harvey is worried about the number of children that are exposed to gambling ads. Research carried out by the LHGP indicated how betting companies have become more pervasive with their messaging during Premier League games.

Across the opening weekend of the current campaign, over 27,000 gambling messages were identified, and of those, 5,000 were used in a single match. This, in turn, amounted to roughly a third of a live broadcast for a game featuring an ad.

But Harvey believes not enough is currently being done to protect children, as he said: “Weak regulation is clearly part of the problem. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) rules against adverts that “appeal strongly” to children but often only retrospectively after investigating a complaint.

“Ex-footballers and ex-Eastenders actors do not strongly appeal to children by default, according to the ASA who assess it case-by-case, so they fill their boots.”

Football can still thrive

For many Premier League clubs, sponsorship and advertising have been a vital source of income. But with new rules enforced to prohibit front-of-shirt sponsorship which came into effect from the start of this season, teams have had to look elsewhere to generate commercial revenues. But rather than spell out the problems football could face, Harvey insists the game can still flourish as F1 did.

He added: “Last month, CEGA handed in a petition addressed to Andy Burnham calling for an end to gambling advertising in football, a position he’s also supported when Manchester Mayor.

“Critics once said Formula One would struggle without tobacco advertising. It went on to thrive, and football can too without gambling sponsorship. For the sake of our children, that could be a crucial step towards ending all gambling ads.”