PL Clubs Breaking Gambling Code
Half of clubs in the Premier League have been advertising gambling on pages that are aimed at children.
A new code for gambling advertisements is being broken by many clubs. © KelvinStuttard, Pixabay
Premier League Clubs Revealed to be Breaking Gambling Ads Code
Some of the biggest football clubs in the world have been found to be breaking a new code relating to gambling advertisements aimed at minors.
An investigation found that half of Premier League clubs are failing to abide by the guidelines that were introduced ahead of the start of the 2024-25 season.
Many Premier League clubs have a gambling sponsor on their shirts, which is currently permitted but will become illegal in the next couple of years. However, The Guardian has found a series of Premier League club websites linking to gambling websites from pages aimed at under-18s, among other breaches of the code.
The Betting and Gaming Council, often described as a lobbying group for the gambling industry, helped put together the code, which was published in July.
Campaigners said it was unsurprising to see Premier League clubs failing to stick to their own rules about how gambling advertisements should be displayed.
Everton Among Worst Offenders
While half of Premier League clubs broke the code, Everton’s breaches were among the most serious uncovered by The Guardian’s investigation.
The Merseyside-based club, which has crypto casino and betting brand Stake.com as its primary sponsor, carried links to that site from a page with news about a junior fans forum.
Everton’s under-18 squad page also featured members of the team, who are under the age of 18 and therefore not legally allowed to gamble, wearing shirts featuring a betting brand sponsor.
When the club was contacted by The Guardian with the findings of its research, Everton removed the links and images in question. Other Premier League clubs that made changes to their websites after being informed of code breaches included:
- Liverpool
- Chelsea
- Aston Villa
- Wolves
- Leicester City
- Brentford
- Ipswich Town
The children’s section of the Wolves’ online club shop had previously allowed users to click straight through to the website of its sponsor Debet.
Can Sport Regulate Itself?
The new Labour government pledged to bring in new gambling regulations in its pre-election manifesto but has yet to confirm what changes are in the offing. Premier League clubs breaking their own code regarding gambling advertisements has led to campaigners calling for new rules.
Football commentator Clive Tyldesley opted to stand down from his job with a top commercial radio station due to its use of gambling advertisements. Responding to the new investigation, he said:
“I’d like to say that I’m surprised, but I’m not. We are coming across more and more examples of how we cannot rely on operators, football clubs, [or] TV channels to regulate themselves.” – Clive Tyldesley, Football Commentator
The code, which is voluntary for Premier League clubs to follow, states that no gambling sponsor logos should be “included on any materials or section of a website which have been designed to be viewed or used specifically by children.”
