You’d expect the FIFA World Cup to be the kind of event U.K. gamblers gravitate to, similar to the Super Bowl or March Madness in the U.S. And it may well be when the tournament crowns a winner, and the handle is analyzed.
In the meantime, the U.K. Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), the industry trade group, has accused FIFA of spreading baseless allegations against bettors and betting operators, the organization said.
An article produced by council chair Brigid Simmonds OBE, accuses anti-gaming lobbyists of latching on to misinformed pundits who focus on the extreme to justify claims of gambling harm at the foot of the World Cup, according to Gambling Insider.
Simmonds quotes studies that show the rate of problem gambling in the U.K. is falling and stands at 0.3 percent at the moment.
Simmonds and the BGC also remind the anti-gaming forces that promotion of gambling on the World Cup is not an issue with a whistle to whistle ban, preventing betting advertising during live football or before the watershed.
According to the council, the ban decreased the number of children seeing betting ads by 97 percent.
Moreover, about 20 percent of television and radio gambling ads focus on safe gambling messages, Simmonds said.
