Are There Too Many Ads at Football Matches in the UK?

A recent BBC report has revealed that betting ads feature in 95% of televised football matches in the United Kingdom. The same report states these ads account for nearly 20% of all ads aired during that time.

Many believe this report could attract the attention of the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC).

Something Has To Be Done

Legal online gambling was at UKGC focus for some time, and it seems sports betting the next hot topic for the country’s gambling watchdog.

BBC report was based on twenty-five different matches, shown on television stations across the UK. Only one of those matches didn’t have any betting bets at all, while 24 others contained a total of 1,324 ad spots run with 272 of them being related to betting.

This means a little over 20% of all commercials were betting ads, while this number went up with more popular competitions like the Europa League, where up to 40% of all ads were related to betting.

Revising the Watershed

Activist Matt Zarb-Cousin expressed his concern over the effects of children and young people being exposed to such an amount of gambling-related advertising. According to him, the government ought to address this issue as soon as possible.

Many believe the current watershed in the UK – which is 9 pm – needs to be revised to include online gambling and sports betting. This problem definitely needs to be addressed, especially after a recent investigation revealed the alarming scale of underage gambling in the country.

At this moment, the UKGC wants to take down those online casino ads that target younger demographic,  and it still remains to be seen whether the country’s regulator will crack down on betting ads as well. One thing is certain, though – the approach could set new standards when it comes to dealing with betting ads on television.

Underage gambling is something no government tolerates, whether it’s the United Kingdom, Canada, or any other country in the world.

UKGC has recently investigated the use of cartoon characters in gambling games, so it’s likely it will focus on this question.