A new study led by the University of Bristol has revealed a significant increase in gambling-related marketing during the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
The research shows that gambling messages have nearly tripled compared to the same period last year, raising concerns about the effectiveness of industry self-regulation and the potential impact on fans.
The investigation counted 29,145 gambling messages across TV, radio and social media during a single weekend, an increase from the 10,999 recorded last year.
The study also revealed extensive gambling marketing on social media platforms, with ads being viewed over 24 million times. Notably, 74% of these content marketing posts were not clearly identifiable as ads, potentially breaching advertising regulations.
The findings have prompted calls from experts, politicians and former athletes for stricter regulation of gambling marketing in football – arguing that the current self-regulation model is inadequate to protect consumers, especially children and vulnerable individuals, from excessive exposure to gambling messages.
Dr. Raffaello Rossi, Co-Lead Author of the study, stated: “This new evidence shows how much the industry is out of control – with gambling ads now flooding Premier League coverage. Just a few months ago, a new code of conduct was published by the industry to curb marketing during football events, but the policy has had no impact on the volume whatsoever.
“It’s more than a failure of policy – it’s a failure to protect the public and the problem has been allowed to proliferate unchecked. We must stop relying on ineffective self-regulation, which is designed to fail, and use existing legislation to restrict gambling marketing like most of our European counterparts.”
Off the back of the findings, the University of Bristol's research team has reported over 100 potentially non-compliant social media ads to the Advertising Standards Authority for investigation.
