Gambling ads surge in Premier League as concerns grow over self-regulation

A new study from the University of Bristol has raised alarms over the dramatic increase in gambling advertisements during the opening weekend of the Premier League, revealing nearly 30,000 ads across television, radio, and social media platforms — a threefold increase from the previous year.

The report, funded by GambleAware, analyzed advertising activity from August 16 to August 19, 2024. It identified 29,145 gambling adverts, compared to 10,999 ads during the same period in 2023. Television accounted for the largest rise, showing a 240% year-on-year increase with 23,690 ads aired during six televised matches. The match between West Ham United and Aston Villa recorded the highest number of ads at 6,491.

Despite the Betting and Gaming Council’s “whistle-to-whistle” ban on gambling ads during play, the study noted that about 10,000 ads were observed while matches were in progress, casting doubt on the effectiveness of self-regulatory measures.

Concerns extend to social media, where gambling ads garnered 24 million views. The study highlighted the potential dangers of content marketing, especially for minors, as many ads were not clearly identifiable as such. Researchers reported 100 instances of misleading gambling ads to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for violating advertising rules.

In a bid to address growing concerns, the Premier League has agreed to ban front-of-shirt gambling sponsorships by 2027, although other forms of advertising will remain unaffected.

Dr. Raffaello Rossi, co-lead author of the study, stated: “This new evidence shows how much the industry is out of control... The industry’s attempt to self-regulate is wholly inadequate and tokenistic.”

She urged lawmakers to take action, emphasizing: “We must stop relying on ineffective self-regulation... the secretary of state has all the legal authority to act on this now.”

Political responses echoed these concerns. Lord Foster of Bath, chair of the House of Lords’ Peers for Gambling Reform, criticized the current self-regulatory framework, saying: “These statistics reveal the woeful inadequacies of industry self-regulation.”

Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP, former vice chair of the Gambling Harms All Party Parliamentary Group, remarked: “The industry could not be trusted to regulate itself... we are all being flooded with adverts that the vast majority of us do not want to see.”

In a related development, the ASA recently banned ads from five social casino brands on TikTok for misleading users into believing they could win real-world money. The implicated brands include SpinX Games, Dataverse Co, Huuuge Global Limited, Mobee Co, and Zeroo Gravity Games LLC.