Investigation revealing huge surge in gambling marketing at start of Premier League season prompts urgent call to bring ‘out of control’ industry into contact

The results highlight the explosion of gaming marketing and how the industry’s current self-regulation is failing. Leading experts and politicians are now calling on the government to prioritize public safety and make handling the issue a top goal.

The report, led by the University of Bristol, shows that football fans are constantly bombarded with gambling marketing across TV and radio, as well as social media during live match coverage and related news reports. Almost 30,000 (29,145) gambling messages were counted in total across these channels in a single weekend – almost triple the 10,999 recorded during the same period last year.

Co-author Dr Raffaello Rossi, a marketing researcher from the University of Bristol, said: “This new evidence shows just how out of control the industry is – with gambling adverts now flooding Premier League coverage. Just a few months ago a new code of practice was published by the industry to curb marketing during football events, but the policy has had no impact whatsoever on the volume. It is clear that the industry’s attempts at self-regulation are wholly inadequate and symbolic. Despite having had years to put in place effective measures to protect consumers, the gaming industry continues to prioritizing profit over safety.”

During live broadcasts of six Premier League matches, the results showed that gambling messages, including logos and adverts displayed during live matches, more than tripled from 6,966 at the same time last year to 23,690 this year – an increase of 240%.

The worst-affected match studied – West Ham United v Aston Villa – contained 6,491 match announcements, which equates to around 30 per minute. In previous studies, game announcements peaked at around 3,500 per game.

Dr Rossi added: “It is more than a failure of policy – it is a failure to protect the public and the problem has been allowed to spread unchecked. We must stop relying on ineffective self-regulation, which is designed to fail, and use existing legislation to restrict the promotion of gambling like most of our European counterparts. The Secretary of State has all the legal power to act on this now.”

During match play, more than 10,000 gambling messages were detected, as the industry’s “whistle-to-whistle” ban, designed to curb gambling marketing, only applies to TV advertising during commercial breaks, making the policy ineffective.

Lord Foster of Bath, chairman of Peers for Gambling Reform, said: “These statistics reveal the woeful failings of industry self-regulation. Despite the alleged ‘whistle-to-whistle’ ban, we continue to see games saturated with gambling advertising, sponsorship and marketing messages, with figures showing that the number of game announcements during the opening weekend had more than doubled from the previous season to a staggering 29,145 announcements.

– It is simply not good enough. The Government and the Gambling Commission must act immediately to reform the advertising, sponsorship and promotion of gambling. With political will, these reforms can be implemented now without the need for new legislation.”

Replicating last year’s research, around 10 researchers carefully analyzed around 24 hours of live match coverage, 15 hours of Sky Sports News coverage, 15 hours of TalkSport radio broadcasts and gambling advertising published on Instagram, Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) from 16 to 19 August .

The report revealed how gaming operators are also successfully leveraging social media to reach large audiences, including children, with gambling ads on these platforms seen over 24 million times. Some of the most popular social media posts featured Premier League players and are not clearly identifiable as gambling advertising – a technique known as content marketing – which makes children particularly vulnerable. Three-quarters (74%) of the content marketing posts collected were not clearly identifiable as advertisements, violating key advertising rules. From their study, the research team reported more than 100 offensive social media ads from major gaming brands to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for investigation.

“The findings show the continued neglect of self-regulation of gambling marketing in football, with measures failing to reduce exposure to children and vulnerable audiences. Our research highlights the need for government intervention, going beyond the industry’s voluntary measures, to fully ensure that children and young people are protected,” added co-author Dr. Jamie Wheaton.

Interdisciplinary experts in marketing, law, psychology and personal finance at the University of Bristol are at the forefront of tackling gambling harm and influencing legislative reform.

Last season’s inquiry resulted in Dr Rossi presenting evidence to the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Gambling Injuries and House of Lords Peers for Gambling Reform. Both groups have since cited the evidence and appealed to the government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to speed up and step up the proposed legislation in the White Paper, much of which has yet to come into force.

Former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton CBE, who himself experienced problem gambling and is, along with his wife, a patron of this research initiative, said: “Last year’s results were bad enough, but this year’s are both shocking and worrying. Gambling advertising during football events has become relentless, and this study clearly shows how out of control it has become in the UK. What worries us the most is the impact on children, who are exposed to gaming marketing at an unacceptable level. We are proud to be patrons of this study, which highlights a serious and growing problems that require urgent action.”

Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP, former vice-chair of the Gambling Harms All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), added: “This appalling evidence shows us that, as I warned earlier, the industry cannot be trusted to regulate itself. Unfortunately, regulators are toothless and as a result, we are all inundated with advertisements that the vast majority of us do not want to see.

“Enough is enough. This government and the Gambling Commission must act quickly to provide regulations that can meaningfully reduce exposure to gambling advertising and help save lives.”

Next month on Thursday 10 October, the Bristol Hub for Gambling Harms Research, based at the university, will host an international conference bringing together leading international researchers, those who have experienced gambling harm first-hand, government bodies, treatment providers, policy commentators and regulators to discussing the current issues in gambling harms the research.

Professor Agnes Nairn, co-director of the Bristol Hub for Gambling Harms Research, said: “University researchers have an important role to play in producing strong evidence like this and then holding the industry and its regulators to account so that all consumers are properly protected from the vast The Bristol Hub, supported by leading global experts, is working hard to advance our understanding of the complexities of gambling harm and to drive positive change, as part of the University’s commitment to championing social justice.”