100/1 Gambling to damage Football Coverage

Sports broadcasts are the most popular things to watch on TV. Millions tune in to support their favourite team or idol but in reality, that isn’t the only thing they are watching. Advertisements dominate sports coverage with one topic being promoted constantly. Gambling.

IMAGE | ANDRIY POPOV

Gambling is a choice but when does that become forced, as without fail each week, pre match build up is interrupted by Ray Winstone, Paddy’s power allows him to fill your socials with betting odds, Ladbrokes makes the lads broke and your team kit dons an obnoxious strip promoting, you guessed it. A gambling firm.

By now, some may be desensitised to such content and so its harm is ignored. Sports broadcasts run for over 100 mins and a study of three Premier League games showed that a combined 1hr and 30 minutes of these broadcasts was taken up by gambling adverts. Similarly, as the nation watched the 2018 World Cup, gambling adverts again dominated. The problem with this? A vast number of children who watch football with their family are being constantly exposed to this during their formative years, making them more likely to gamble.

Despite the slogan ‘Gamble Responsibly’ very little is done to genuinely discourage it. But why is this the case? Well advertising comes at a premium with broadcasters and teams receiving millions for what is perceived as ‘innocent’ promotion so long as ‘Gamble Responsibly’ is sprawled at the bottom in small text.

As the financial benefits of promoting such causes increases, the quality of sports broadcasts declines. No longer can fans enjoy songs from the terraces, listen to the detailed views of pundits or enjoy a raw game of football. With 95% of TV matches featuring gambling adverts, maybe this is another pandemic silently crippling football, sport and society as a whole?