New research presented in Parliament revealed that gambling marketing continues to saturate the opening weekend of the English Premier League, prompting renewed calls for tighter statutory regulation to curb exposure levels that significantly exceed those in other international jurisdictions.
For the fourth consecutive year, researchers from the University of Bristol tracked gambling promotions, recording a staggering 15,571 messages across the opening weekend fixtures. During live match broadcasts, the review found that at least one gambling message was visible for a combined total of five hours and 16 minutes, meaning almost one-fifth of total broadcast time featured betting marketing.
The study investigated every live UK broadcast between August 21 and August 24, alongside 15 hours of Sky Sports News television coverage, 15 hours of TalkSport radio broadcasts, and organic and paid social media advertising from ten major betting brands. While the analysis noted that the newly implemented front-of-shirt restriction successfully eliminated primary gambling logos from the front of matchday jerseys, the overall reduction during live matches was estimated at just 10.5%.
This minimal decline occurred because branding shifted heavily to shirt sleeves and training kits, which saw a 362% increase, while pitchside advertising continued to dominate, accounting for 72% of all messages during live matches.
Criticisms of self-regulation and international disparities
Dr. Raffaello Rossi, Senior Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Bristol Business School and Co-Director of the Bristol Hub for Gambling Harms Research, criticized the reliance on industry self-regulation.
“The findings raise serious questions about the effectiveness of the Premier League’s front of shirt restriction and football’s voluntary Sponsorship Code of Conduct. Yet three years after new restrictions were promised and our first study exposed the scale of the problem, we still recorded an absolute deluge of marketing messages. This cannot be presented as a success for self-regulation. Premier League broadcasts contained more gambling messages per game than every other jurisdiction in our comparison, including Germany, Canada and the United States.”
According to the international comparison, Premier League broadcasts averaged 2,449 messages per game across the four-year sample, compared to 1,677 during German Bundesliga coverage, 483 during National Basketball Association and National Hockey League coverage in the United States, and 505 in the same leagues in Canada.
Furthermore, extreme exposure was recorded during specific fixtures, such as the match between Newcastle United and Liverpool, which featured 2,702 gambling messages—averaging more than 12 messages per minute and remaining visible during nearly 41% of the broadcast.
Social media reach and parliamentary response
The research also exposed extensive gambling advertising on social media, identifying 1,023 paid adverts on Facebook and Instagram with an estimated UK reach of 153.2 million accounts. Notably, individuals aged 18 to 24 accounted for 16.6 million instances of this reach, with more than three-quarters attributed to young men, raising serious concerns regarding age-gating compliance and self-regulated safeguarding exemptions.
Dr. Rossi presented the findings to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Gambling Reform. Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP, Co-Chair of the APPG, emphasized that voluntary measures have failed, urging the Government to introduce stringent regulations and close existing loopholes. Longstanding research patrons Peter Shilton CBE and his wife Steph echoed these concerns, stressing that pervasive advertising normalizes betting for young fans and families.
