TV gambling ads significantly influenced betting on 2022 Fifa World Cup – study

Television gambling ads significantly influenced betting activity during the 2022 Fifa World Cup, raising concerns ahead of this year’s event, according to a study.

The findings suggest current rules governing gambling ads may be “insufficient” to protect those most at risk, academics from the University of Sheffield warned.

The study examined betting behaviour among men aged between 18 and 45 in England during the 2022 tournament in Qatar, to see how exposure to gambling ads on TV influenced the likelihood of them placing bets.

It found that the frequency of football betting was between 16% and 24% higher during matches broadcast on channels screening gambling ads compared with games shown on channels that did not screen them.

Participants were also between 22% and 33% more likely to place a bet during matches that included televised gambling ads.

The study’s authors said that while participants reported no personal history of gambling problems, men and individuals aged 18 to 44 were known to disproportionately make up the largest group of sports gamblers in the UK, and were also at the greatest risk of gambling-related harm.

Lead author of the study and research associate at the University of Sheffield’s School of Medicine and Population Health, Ellen McGrane, said: “These television adverts may be acting as powerful triggers during live games, encouraging betting even among people who had no prior intention to gamble.

“One of our key findings was that this advertising doesn’t simply shift people between betting platforms, it increases the overall amount of gambling taking place.

“A substantial body of evidence shows that when gambling participation rises at a population level, gambling-related harm also increases, suggesting that the current restrictions in place may not be effective enough.

“Despite the scale of this issue, advertising rules are not being strengthened. Tighter regulation of gambling advertising during live sport may be needed, particularly ahead of highly televised events such as the World Cup, to better protect those most at risk.”

But the industry regulator, the Betting and Gaming Council, said advertising by licensed bookmakers had declined in the last five years, including during major football tournaments.

‘Flutter’

A Betting and Gaming spokesperson said: “Millions of adults enjoy a flutter during major sporting events like the World Cup, with the vast majority doing so safely, supported by strong protections in place in the regulated sector.

“The evidence shows that advertising by licensed bookmakers is actually falling, reducing by 1.7% year-on-year since 2021. It now makes up just 2.7 per cent of total UK advertising, with 20% of advertising focused on safer gambling messaging. This decline has continued during major football events such as Euro 2024, when the number of gambling adverts shown per day was 20% lower than during the World Cup in 2022.

“Bookmakers already face some of the toughest ad rules anywhere and voluntarily introduced the whistle-to-whistle ban, which has cut the number of TV betting adverts seen by kids during live sport by 97% at that time.

“The real danger comes from harmful illegal gambling sites, which flood the internet with ads, carry out no age checks and offer no protections.”