The UK has been one of the best-developed gambling markets on a global scale. Years ago, betting was associated mostly with horse racing but nowadays, football has managed to shift it from the top position, becoming the most lucrative sport of the gambling industry.
In fact, gambling on football has increased in popularity with the popularity of the game, as well as with the evolution of the sports media promoting it. Furthermore, younger audiences have been attracted as gambling companies have been targeting younger football fans through up-to-date sports coverage.
Gambling companies have also targeted younger players with gaming content such as the ones in Football Manager and FIFA games, with some betting companies offering complex products. The country’s gambling sector has come to a point where many underage individuals and young adults make a connection between football and betting as a key part of the enjoyment they can get from a game.
For some time, some charity organisations and anti-gambling advocates have been insisting on information that traditional forms of gambling such as pool betting had not been having the same addiction levels for UK customers.
Betting Operators Target Younger Audiences by Using Their Fascination with Football
The UK Government’s review of betting in sport is expected to be brought to an end in March. So far, however, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has explained that the country’s gambling industry had experienced massive growth, while Nigel Huddleston, the Sports Minister, has reminded that the UK needs a better legal framework that would bring its legislation into the digital age.
In July 2020, a House of Lords committee made a recommendation that betting adverts should be suspended in or near sports venues.
As mentioned above, football has become the most lucrative sport in the gambling sector of the UK. Recently, a study of football shirt sponsorship deals found that the relationship between the English Premier League (EPL) and gambling is stronger than the one with any of the top sports leagues on a global scale.
That is exactly the reason why anti-gambling campaigners have called for the industry to cut its ties with professional sports. According to them, professional sports teams, top players and even broadcasters have been using brand purpose strategies that aim at attracting younger audiences, and their advertising campaigns may be taking advantage of such customers, encouraging young players to develop problem gambling behaviour.
Some UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) executives, on the other hand, have been saying that the gambling regulator should introduce affordability checks on gamblers before they are allowed to place wagers. According to them, such a policy would prevent underage individuals from accessing gambling services. The move could actually prevent some players, who find it hard to control their betting on their favourite sport, from spending more than they can actually afford to.
- Author
Daniel Williams
