Critics have accused a social media campaign with the BBC and ITV as an attempt to normalize betting among young people and problem gamblers during the Euro 2020 tournament.
Sky Bet launched a series of videos with BBC pundit Micah Richards and ITVcommentator Roy Keane on a road trip to Wembley. The five videos have so far attracted more than 6 million views on Facebook and Twitter accounts. The spots feature posts offering free initial bets. Sky Bet also shared an interview with England captain Harry Kane, who participates in the road trip while discussing his team’s chances.
The gambling industry acceded to a voluntary ban on TV ads during events and before 9 p.m., but not on digital promotion, which accounts for 80 percent of advertising spending. The Observer said that ITV’s Twitter accounts will be shown during Euro 2020 goal highlights throughout live matches.
A study carried out by Ipsos Mori and two university teams into the impact of gambling advertising on both young people and at-risk adults speaks to the use of celebrity endorsement, humor and fun to promote gambling as harmless and lighthearted. The study, on behalf of gambling charity GambleAware last year, found exposure to betting promotions made young people more likely to gamble.
There are 55,000 children with a harmful gambling problem in the U.K., according to the Gambling Commission, as well as 300,000 problem adult gamblers and 440,000 at-risk gamblers. The industry brings in 60 percent of its profits from these kinds of gamblers.
“There is a very good chance that under-18s will be exposed to gambling brands though these viral videos,” said Matt Zarb-Cousin, the founder of Clean up Gambling. “Children will be familiar with these pundits and so it will normalize gambling for a younger generation.”
The betting industry, he added, sees Euro 2020 as a path to new patrons.
“Football is very low-margin for the operators,” he said. “They try to hook new customers in with football betting and then cross-sell the more addictive products like online slots, which have no limits on the stakes. That’s where the industry makes its money.”
Carolyn Harris MP, chair of the cross-party group on gambling-related harm, is upset over the situation.
“Gamblers are not only losing their livelihoods, their homes and their families and in many cases their lives,” she said. “ITV is allowing gambling firms to push an addiction. It is reprehensible.”
