Study Links Advertising to Increased Betting in Qatar World Cup

Television gambling adverts in the UK could have led to greater amounts of betting during the 2022 men’s FIFA World Cup compared with broadcasts that did not include gambling adverts, a study has found.

The study, published by the University of Sheffield, examined betting behaviour among men aged 18-45 in England during the tournament in Qatar.

According to the study, football betting increased by 16% to 24% during matches broadcast on channels carrying gambling advertising. Participants were between 22% and 33% more likely to place a bet during matches that included television gambling advertising.

A slightly unbalanced study

Live TV broadcasts of the tournament were shared between BBC and ITV. BBC is a public service broadcaster, meaning it does not show adverts, so the increased betting activity stemmed from matches that were shown on ITV. The data could be slightly skewed by the fact ITV showed three of England’s five matches played during the tournament, including a high-profile quarter-final defeat to France.

The bottom-line data from the study is based on the fact that players tended to bet on football more when games were televised on ITV. All participants in the study had bet on football at least once in the previous 12 months and had no history of personal gambling problems.

Qatar World Cup broadly escaped watershed

In 2019, operators who were part of the Industry Group for Responsible Gambling imposed a whistle-to-whistle ban on gambling adverts showing during live sporting events prior to the 9pm watershed.

Industry body the Betting and Gaming Council claimed this led to a 97% reduction in the number of TV betting adverts in its first year in operation, according to research by Enders Analysis.

Due to the time difference with Qatar however, matches in the tournament were rarely played after 9pm UK time.

Ellen McGrane, Research Associate at the University of Sheffield's School of Medicine and Population health, said:

“These television adverts may be acting as powerful triggers during live games, encouraging betting even among people who had no prior intention to gamble. One of our key findings was that this advertising doesn't simply shift people between betting platforms, it increases the overall amount of gambling taking place.

“Despite the scale of this issue, advertising rules are not being strengthened. Tighter regulation of gambling advertising during live sport may be needed, particularly ahead of highly-televised events such as the World Cup, to better protect those most at risk.”

Self-regulation

An example of sporting events becoming less intertwined with gambling is the upcoming ban on operators providing front-of-shirt sponsorship in the English Premier League, which will be implemented from the start of the 2026/27 season in August.

Operators will still be able to have sponsorships/partnerships in place with Premier League teams, but cannot have their name emblazoned on the front of teams’ shirts.

However, the whistle-to-whistle ban is a form of self-regulation, and the front-of-shirt ban is being imposed by the Premier League teams themselves. Gambling advertising and marketing was mentioned in the government’s 2023 Gambling White Paper, although it was an area of the industry which remained broadly untouched.

The White Paper proposed more than 60 reforms related to gambling in the UK, with some already being implemented, such as improved identification checks, a statutory levy, and a cap on the maximum stakes on online slots at £5 for older adults and £2 for younger adults.

While advertising and marketing was included in the White Paper, the proposals have widely been seen as light touch, as they did not mention specific curbs or restrictions to how operators market themselves.

Operators were encouraged to adapt proactively to new market restrictions, safeguard against marketing to vulnerable groups, ensure free bets and bonuses are socially responsible, and leverage data for socially responsible advertising.