Betting firms dodging football ban by running adverts during YouTube highlights
Betting firms are beating a ban on advertising during matches by running commercials in the middle of football highlights web clips.
YouTube videos of the best bits of games shown on Sky and BT Sport cut to adverts during the coverage.
Campaigners warn young people are most likely to watch the YouTube footage because it is free, unlike Sky and BT Sport.
A video posted by BT Sport of the Liverpool v Real Madrid game on Tuesday cut to a Bet 365 advert during the action. The same happens on rival Sky’s clips.
No gambling ads can be shown during TV coverage of games under a “whistle-to-whistle” rule introduced in 2019 to protect kids.
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Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Former gambling addict Matt Zarb-Cousin, 33, who contemplated suicide after running up debts of £20,000, said: “YouTube is where children are spending most of their time.”
And legendary England goalkeeper Peter Shilton, a recovered gambling addict, branded whistle-to-whistle a “token effort”.
He added: “Football used to be a beautiful, family game. You can’t watch it now without seeing a betting advert.”
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Birmingham Mail)
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Birmingham Mail)
Dr Raffaello Rossi of the Gambling Harms Research Centre said: “If we really want to protect children the whistle-to-whistle ban needs to include social media.”
Dr Rossi’s team found that 44% of 11 to 17-year-olds see gambling ads on social media at least once a week, with betting ads tripling during football match days.
And children are more likely to become gamblers in later life if they are exposed to betting adverts, according to a 2020 study commissioned by charity GambleAware.
The Government will publish its long awaited gambling legislation in the coming weeks – the first of its kind in almost 20 years.
Affordability checks for gamblers and minimum stakes for online slot machines are among possible measures.
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The Premier League is expected to agree a voluntary deal to restrict betting ads on players’ shirts.
Anna Hemmings, chief executive of gambling addiction charity GamCare, said: “Adverts from gambling operators can and should be managed in such a way that they avoid visibility to young people.”
A Government spokesman said: “Since the whistle-to-whistle ban was introduced in 2019, children’s exposure to televised betting ads has almost halved.”
Sky and BT Sport were contacted for comment.
Peter Shilton, England’s most capped footballer, was addicted to gambling for 45 years and blew millions of pounds.
The former goalie, 73, said: “Kids see their footballing heroes with betting adverts on shirts and think it’s a fun thing.
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“Gambling firms make betting seem fun – it can be – but it’s life-destroying for an increasing number of people.”
Shilton, who quit betting eight years ago, believes the shift to online gambling has made resisting a bet even more difficult for addicts.
He said: “When I started gambling in the late 60s it was just on the phone or going into the bookies.
“Now the internet is here, companies have carte blanche.
“We’ve been tearing our hair out over why laws on gambling have been delayed for so long.
“The Government needs to regulate these companies – they can’t regulate themselves.”