Is UK Gambling Advertising Excessive?
By Brian Cullingworth, Last updated Oct 27, 2017
Study by BBC program suggests it may be
The BBC reported over the weekend on the results of a study on gambling advertising by its Victoria Derbyshire show, noting that 95 percent of television advertising breaks during live UK football matches feature at least one gambling advert, and one in five of the commercials broadcast across 25 matches were for betting firms, rising on occasion to more than one in three.
In the UK gambling advertisements may only be shown after 9pm, with the exception of live sporting events.
The study assessed 25 games involving British teams, from the build-up through to the post-match chat on BT Sport, Sky Sports and ITV, observing that on average there were a total of 1,324 commercials and sponsorship indents, and of these, 272 were for gambling. Certain matches showed higher rates of gambling adverts… up to 40 percent for betting, with 18 adverts for five firms.
The BBC reports that the study results are released ahead of the expected publication this (October) month of the government’s long-anticipated review of the gambling industry (see previous InfoPowa reports).
In 2016, betting firms spent GBP 150 million a year on TV adverts, with a single Premiership football ad placement believed to cost out at GBP 35,000.
The BBC report notes that earlier this year Australia banned all gambling adverts in live sport before the 9pm watershed, and that Belgium has recently done the same.
InfoPowa readers may recall that the UK Local Government Association recently called for tighter restrictions on gambling advertising, highlighting that the adverts in live matches were screened to millions of viewers including children, while half of Premier League and Championship football teams were sponsored by betting companies.
A recent study by Goldsmiths University found more than 250 separate gaming adverts on-screen during the BBC’s Match of the Day programme. These were mostly on shirts, hoardings and post-match interviews.
Infopowa news was a staple of Casinomeister’s news from 2000 until 2019. Brian Cullingworth was the main writer, contributor, and was one of the most knowledgeable persons I have ever known involved in the online casino industry.
We first met in January 2001 at the ICE in London where I observed him going booth to booth interviewing online casino, software, and licensing jurisdiction representatives. Brian was also heavily involved with our forum as “Jetset“, he was involved as an informal consultant to eCOGRA, the OPA, and was a player advocate who assisted countless aggrieved players with his connections to industry folks. He also published “Casino Cautions” via Infopowa news for quite a number of years. These can be found in our news archives.
His passing in February 2019 was a dark day for us. He will be forever missed.
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