Is Football Addicted To Gambling?

When you check out stadium names, shirt sponsors and commercials on TV, you will notice the names of bookmakers and digital casinos all over the place. So, what’s really the relationship between football and gambling? Many of the young fans have been taken over by the gambling frenzy, and this has not been made any better by the increasing growth of various smartphone apps that allow users to bet. This means that going to the bookies is no longer necessary.

Gambling & the English Premier League

The EPL is probably one of the most popular football leagues in the world following across different continents. Interestingly, this is also where gambling is predominantly visible. This season, for instance, nearly 60% of clubs in the top two divisions in England’s football have their shirts branded with gambling companies. This translates to 9 out of the 20 clubs in the premier league, and seventeen out of the 24 clubs in the Championship.

If you have been following live matches this season, you may have noticed that the huge numbers of gambling firms taking over during ad breaks by providing the latest odds. The trend seems to be causing alarm in various quarters that this trend is exposing the young generation to inappropriate messages. In fact, new research is indicating that even the professional footballers are a highly at-risk group. This is with regard to developing gambling behavior that is problematic. In other words, it also poses a conflict of interest for authorities in football.

Are Young People At Risk With Overexposure To gambling Adverts?

According to statistics, the just concluded World Cup may have exposed viewers to about one and half hours of betting ads during this tournament. Bookmarkers together with online casino firms had one and a half times more screen time compared to alcohol companies, and nearly 4 times that of food joints.

Statistics On Young Generation

One of the major downsides of the world cup was the barrage of gambling adverts on social media and TV that was exposed to thousands of children. Since 2011, however, the Gambling Commission in England has been collecting information regarding gambling amongst children of school-going age; widely aged 11 to 16 years. The research gathered in 2017 indicated 12% of those aged between 11 and 15 years had gambled in the previous week of the survey. Interestingly, this shows a steep decline, right from 23% in 2011.

Are We Going To See Less Gambling Ads?

If you watch football on television in the UK, you will be sure to see many gambling ads. The truth is that commercial broadcasters showing live EFL, Premier League and European matches largely depend on adverts and subscriptions for their income. This is inclusive of ad breaks featuring commercials on football gambling.

The odds of doing away with online casino companies and bookmarkers ads are still very elusive. According to the Advertising Standards Authority, they can only monitor the content of the ads. However, they do not monitor the numbers. There is no organization regulating this aspect since it would contravene the Gambling Act 2005, which provides for promoting gambling as a legit leisure activity.