Re: Let’s end corporate sponsorship of sporting events
Dear Editor
The suggestion that banning corporate advertising of unhealthy products from sports events would be a wise and necessary move. However, this should go further than just unhealthy food. Gambling sponsorships of sporting events has also become accepted as commonplace.
The new Premier League season has recently started and over half of the teams in the league have gambling companies on the front of their shirts. It’s been revealed that teams banked £125.5m in sponsorships from betting firms – a £50.5m rise from the season before. Teams in lower leagues and in other types of sport also regularly partner with gambling operators and have adverts from them on their kits and in their stadiums, exposing not only fans but their children to their messaging.
Gambling is a public health issue which can affect anyone and having it advertised at sports events normalises it without highlighting the risks which can lead to financial harm, relationship breakdown, and mental and physical harm in the worst cases.
As Chair of Trustees for GambleAware, the leading charity and strategic commissioner of gambling harms prevention and treatment services in Great Britain, we are particularly concerned about the effect gambling advertising has on children and young people who are exposed when they go to watch matches. We know that early exposure to this advertising can lead to children and young people being more likely to experience harm from gambling later in life.
Our recent report found that up to 1.65 million children in Great Britain are living in households where an adult is experiencing “problem gambling”. Those children exposed to gambling were also found to be four times more likely to go on to experience “problem gambling” in later life compared to those who had never been affected by someone else’s gambling. This cycle of harm shows the urgent need for more robust protective measures.
For this reason GambleAware are calling for a ban on gambling marketing at sports events, including on all shirts and billboards in stadiums. The Premier League announced a decision to ban gambling advertising from the front of team shirts from the end of the 2025/26 season, which was a positive step. However ,this does not go far enough, as teams could still have shirt sleeve sponsorship and in-ground advertising for gambling brands which also needs to end.
Sports events should stop promoting unhealthy behaviours whether it is gambling, unhealthy food, or anything else which can lead to harm. More effective regulation is needed to protect society from products which harm public health and we believe this is something that the government should work on with regulatory bodies and teams. Sports teams are role models for many, and we need to ensure that they are not being used to promote unhealthy products, especially to young and vulnerable people.
Rapid Response:
Re: Let’s end corporate sponsorship of sporting events
Dear Editor
The suggestion that banning corporate advertising of unhealthy products from sports events would be a wise and necessary move. However, this should go further than just unhealthy food. Gambling sponsorships of sporting events has also become accepted as commonplace.
The new Premier League season has recently started and over half of the teams in the league have gambling companies on the front of their shirts. It’s been revealed that teams banked £125.5m in sponsorships from betting firms – a £50.5m rise from the season before. Teams in lower leagues and in other types of sport also regularly partner with gambling operators and have adverts from them on their kits and in their stadiums, exposing not only fans but their children to their messaging.
Gambling is a public health issue which can affect anyone and having it advertised at sports events normalises it without highlighting the risks which can lead to financial harm, relationship breakdown, and mental and physical harm in the worst cases.
As Chair of Trustees for GambleAware, the leading charity and strategic commissioner of gambling harms prevention and treatment services in Great Britain, we are particularly concerned about the effect gambling advertising has on children and young people who are exposed when they go to watch matches. We know that early exposure to this advertising can lead to children and young people being more likely to experience harm from gambling later in life.
Our recent report found that up to 1.65 million children in Great Britain are living in households where an adult is experiencing “problem gambling”. Those children exposed to gambling were also found to be four times more likely to go on to experience “problem gambling” in later life compared to those who had never been affected by someone else’s gambling. This cycle of harm shows the urgent need for more robust protective measures.
For this reason GambleAware are calling for a ban on gambling marketing at sports events, including on all shirts and billboards in stadiums. The Premier League announced a decision to ban gambling advertising from the front of team shirts from the end of the 2025/26 season, which was a positive step. However ,this does not go far enough, as teams could still have shirt sleeve sponsorship and in-ground advertising for gambling brands which also needs to end.
Sports events should stop promoting unhealthy behaviours whether it is gambling, unhealthy food, or anything else which can lead to harm. More effective regulation is needed to protect society from products which harm public health and we believe this is something that the government should work on with regulatory bodies and teams. Sports teams are role models for many, and we need to ensure that they are not being used to promote unhealthy products, especially to young and vulnerable people.
Competing interests: No competing interests