Gambling addiction fears rise ahead of Euro 2020 as research shows fans were exposed to 716 betting logos in just ONE top-flight match
- Fans were exposed to 716 gambling logos during one Premier League match
- Logos featured on the front of players’ shirts and advertising around the ground
- Findings will be featured in C4 documentary Football’s Gambling Addiction
Fans watching one Premier League football match on television were exposed to 716 gambling logos, researchers found.
That equates to six exposures per minute over the two-hour show. The logos featured on the front of players’ shirts, on advertising around the ground and even on a club physio’s top.
The findings from the Newcastle United versus Wolverhampton Wanderers match in February are featured in Channel 4’s documentary, Football’s Gambling Addiction, fronted by former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson.
Fans watching one Premier League football match on television were exposed to 716 gambling logos, researchers found
That equates to six exposures per minute over the two-hour show. The logos featured on the front of players’ shirts, on advertising around the ground and even on a club physio’s top
Last night Lord Foster of Bath, chairman of the Peers for Gambling Reform group, called for a significant reduction in gambling advertising during the European football championships, which start on Friday.
He said: ‘With growing concern about the number of children who are already gambling addicts… we have to start breaking that link and one way of doing it would be to reduce the amount of gambling advertising during the competition.’
Tory MP Richard Holden added: ‘The constant exposure of children to gambling advertising is a real concern to many parents. It’s vital the Government takes a comprehensive look at this.’
The researchers watching the Newcastle match used the methodology of Robin Ireland, a researcher at the University of Glasgow who has completed a PhD on commercial influences and sponsorship in the Premier League. Dr Ireland told the documentary: ‘All the values that we have with football – the tradition, the excitement, the passion – that’s what the brand is trying to associate themselves with.
The findings from the Newcastle United versus Wolverhampton Wanderers match (pictured) in February are featured in Channel 4’s documentary, Football’s Gambling Addiction, fronted by former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson
‘It seems almost innocent sometimes because you don’t notice it but it’s very deliberately placed and very deliberately paid for.’
The Daily Mail has been calling for greater protection for addicts with its Stop The Gambling Predators campaign and Miss Davidson wants ministers to restrict betting firms from sponsoring football clubs to prevent thousands of lives being ruined. She urged the Government to see gambling advertising as a ‘serious’ problem when they review the legislation.
Miss Davidson said gambling had ‘so saturated’ football that children could not watch a game without seeing ‘hundreds of betting logos’. She told Radio Times: ‘Gambling firms piggyback on to football because there are clear benefits to associating their brand with a much-loved team.’
Last night ITV said gambling advertising at the Euros will be ‘significantly reduced’ compared to the 2018 World Cup.
Football’s Gambling Addiction, 7.30pm tonight, Channel 4
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