Children ‘directly exposed’ to betting firms’ marketing in football match-day programmes Exclusive: Gambling adverts appear in almost 60 per cent of children’s sections in programmes at Premier League and Championship clubs

Gambling marketing is appearing in almost 60 per cent of children’s sections in match-day programmes at Premier League and Championship clubs, a new study has revealed.

In research conducted for the Journal of Gambling Studies, led by Dr Steve Sharman from the University of East London, it has emerged that children are frequently being exposed to content related to betting companies in match programmes.

As pressure mounts on the Football Association to end a six-year deal, signed via third-party sports media company IMG, allowing ­bookmaker bet365 to provide live FA Cup matches for customers who deposit or bet money, this new ­research shines further light on football’s murky relationship with the gambling industry.

“On average there were just under 2.5 ads per programme, but nearly 40 exposures,” Dr Sharman told i. “It’s appearing on over 20 per cent of pages, around a fifth of pages in every programme.

“The frequency of exposure for teams sponsored by gambling companies is significantly more than those that aren’t. The number of gambling ads didn’t really matter. But incidental exposure by clubs who are sponsored by gambling companies is high. Restricting ­adverts themselves isn’t a particularly effective way of stopping exposure.”

Dr Sharman’s study, in conjunction with Anglia Ruskin University and the University of Warwick, analysed programmes across consecutive weekends in October 2018, which they estimate were made available to 1.2million match-going fans.

They found that while specific ­adverts for gambling firms were relatively low, adverts for these firms were still prevalent on pages as they appeared on club shirts and training tops. Dr Sharman added: “There was gambling exposure in nearly 60 per cent of child-specific programme sections.”

Government officials and key football figures yesterday spoke out against the FA’s deal with bet365, which was revealed by the Daily Mail. Nicky Morgan, secretary for state for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, urged the governing body to explore ways of terminating the agreement.

“This is a contractual matter for the FA and bet365 but things have moved on since the contract was signed and I hope they will reconsider,” Morgan said.

Dr Sharman believes it reveals how gambling companies have stolen a march on regulators. “In terms of this being revealed today, it shows the gambling industry is very smart and always a long way ahead of administrators or legislators,” he said. “The media, Gambling Commission and government are only looking at this now, but it’s been in place for ages. The gambling companies will already be looking at what’s next.”

Conservative MP Damian Collins, former chair of the DCMS select committee, said: “This is worse than grubby. The FA deal with bet365 creates an active ­incentive for people to gamble by linking free coverage of FA Cup games to opening an online betting account.It’s inappropriate and both sides should reconsider the agreement.”

This is all kinds of wrong. Sort it @FA https://t.co/gMyjEYS9eX — Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) January 8, 2020

Gary Lineker, who regularly presents the BBC’s FA Cup coverage,said: “This is all kinds of wrong. Sort it FA.”

Malcolm Clarke, the chairman of the Football Supporters’ Association, said: “This deal highlights the major concerns fans have about the growth of gambling in football – governing bodies need to take these concerns seriously.

“Through our partnership with GambleAware, we are taking real steps to promote safer gambling in football and we call on the FA to get around the table on the issue. There is much more to be done to protect fans from the risks of gambling.”

Former sports minister Tracey Crouch said: “Given the current challenges of regulating online gambling it will inevitably expose vulnerable people, including children, to gambling – something that can lead to long-term problems for society. I hope they ­reconsider this decision.”