Ministers have been urged to intervene to stop football clubs setting their own rules to curb gambling advertising, after an investigation showed first division Fans were bombarded with nearly 30,000 messages about gambling in a single weekend.
Top-flight clubs have so far avoided mandatory restrictions on gambling sponsorship and have instead addressed public concerns through voluntary measures, such as banning logos on the front of shirts, starting in 2026.
But politicians, researchers and England's most capped male player, Peter Shilton, called on the government to act after a new study found a rise in gambling adverts which they said exposed the “regrettable inadequacies ” of allowing gambling clubs and operators to set their own rules. .
Fans following the opening weekend of the Premier League season last month were inundated with 29,145 betting messages on television, radio and social media across six live matches, according to analysis by researchers from the University of Bristol.
The figure, which is equivalent to almost 54 pro-game messages for every scheduled minute of games, had increased almost threefold. compared to the 10,999 registered in the same period last yearusing the same methodology.
The most betting-saturated match was West Ham United vs Aston Villa, where both teams had a betting sponsor on the front of the shirt, which featured 6,491 betting messages.
Since 2019, gambling companies have agreed not to show ads on television before the basin during halftime or immediately before and after games. under the “whistle to whistle” ban.
The industry has said this has dramatically reduced the volume of ads seen by children, but the report's authors said they had detected 10,000 gambling messages because the measures do not place restrictions on billboards on the courts.
While clubs have committed to giving up betting sponsors on the front of the shirt from 2026, the number of teams whose players wear a betting logo on their chest increased this season before the ban, from eight to 11.
Previous studies have shown that shirts represent a much smaller proportion of gambling advertising during matches than the billboards next to the field.
Earlier this year, football clubs drew up a voluntary code of conduct with the betting industry to reduce the volume of gambling messages seen by children.
But earlier this week, the Guardian and investigative website The Pitch Inspection found that half of the top 20 clubs appeared to be breaking its own guidelines by including logos and links to gambling sites on web pages likely to attract under-18s.
The previous government decided not to address gambling advertising in a white paper on industry regulation, published last year.
Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith, who co-chairs a group of MPs examining gambling-related harm, said the time had come for Labor to intervene, rather than allowing football clubs to draw up their own regulations.
He said: “This terrible evidence shows us that… the industry cannot be trusted to regulate itself. Unfortunately, regulators are ineffective and as a result, we are all inundated with ads that the vast majority of us don't want to see.
“Enough is enough. This government and the Game “The Commission must act quickly to deliver regulation that can significantly reduce exposure to gambling advertising and help save lives.”
Liberal Democrat peer Don Foster, chair of Peers for Gambling Reform, said the University of Bristol findings had exposed the “regrettable inadequacies” of self-regulation and called on the government to intervene and reform gambling advertising rules. .
The calls also garnered support from England's most capped men's footballer, Shilton, who has spoken of his own battle with gambling addiction.
“What worries us most is the impact on children, who are exposed to the marketing of the game at an unacceptable level,” said the former goalkeeper, who represented England 125 times between 1970 and 1990.
A government spokesman said ministers were “considering the full range of gambling policies, including advertising and sponsorship, and will update these in due course.”
Industry trade body the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) said the report “fundamentally misunderstands” advertising.
“The previous government stated that research did not establish a causal link between exposure to advertising and the development of problem gambling,” the BGC said.
He added: “Betting advertising and sponsorship must adhere to strict guidelines, with safer gambling tools and signs regularly and prominently displayed to help those concerned about their gambling.
“BGC members already devote 20% of television, radio and digital advertising to safer gambling messages.”
