Premier League Teams Violate Code on Gambling Ads Aimed at Kids, Report

Amid the overhaul of the gambling regulations in the United Kingdom, Premier League clubs agreed to enforce voluntary rules that would help decrease gambling harm. Such involved the ban on front-of-shirt gambling sponsorships, as well as other meaningful changes that seek to reduce the marketing of gambling products, bringing change for vulnerable adults and reducing the exposure of children to such products.

Clubs Fail to Comply with Gambling Marketing Requirements

The new rules, which were developed by the Premier League clubs together with the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), included restrictions related to responsible advertising. Particularly, clubs vowed not to advertise their gambling sponsors in content that targets underage individuals, including groups or webpages for young adults under the age of 18.

Despite its good intentions, many of the Premier League clubs don’t seem to follow the rules they supported, a newly released report warns. On Thursday, the Guardian released concerning data, revealing that 10 out of 20 Premier League clubs had deficiencies when it comes to complying with the requirement not to advertise to underage individuals.

The publication collaborated with a specialized online soccer investigations journal, The Pitch Inspection. Concerningly, the investigation uncovered that Premier League clubs in some cases featured a link, showed a logo or included another form of gambling advertising on pages that aimed at soccer fans under 18 and even on some children’s pages.

The Majority of the Clubs Remedied the Situation

Per the new report, pages dedicated to soccer fans under 18 belonging to Chelsea, Liverpool and Leicester City, contained links to the teams’ betting sponsors. In Chelsea’s case, a page that consisted of highlights of youth teams and another one that listed fixtures for under 18s, contained links to the team’s gambling sponsor, Betway.

Issues with gambling marketing were also found on pages belonging to the Wolverhampton Wanderers and Brentford FC. Under the children’s section of the online merch shop of each of the clubs, logos belonging to their gambling sponsors were reportedly seen.

In the Wolves’ case, the merchandise shop contained a link that led directly to its gambling sponsor’s website, Debet. On the other hand, the logo of Hollywood Bets, Brentford’s sponsor, was seen within the team’s website children’s section, although there was no direct link to the gambling operator.

More clubs also reportedly failed to comply with the gambling advertisement regulation despite their commitment to the new rules on soccer sponsorship. The concerning discovery raised once again the alarm about the impact of gambling sponsorship and the detrimental effect of the activity on young adults and soccer fans alike.

On the bright side, Ipswich Town, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Wolves, Brentford, Leicester City and Aston Villa, when approached by the Guardian, took immediate action. The aforementioned clubs removed the gambling marketing images and links, ensuring compliance with the new betting rules. Still, the case raised concerns about the industry’s ability to self-regulate, at a time when government-imposed rules on soccer sponsorships are unlikely considering the initiated voluntary efforts of the Premier League.