Gambling sponsorship and Rugby: is the link too strong in the UK?

Even though the situation in Rugby is not like in Football where almost every team has a gambling-related sponsorship, it is clear that over the years gambling operators have tried harder and harder to convince Rugby fans in having a flutter with them.
Senior gambling industry figures have raised the concern that the vast increase in gambling advertising on TV can have an adverse effect especially on children who are exposed to those and have asked the government to regulate the matter further. For youths nowadays the leading sports, and this also includes rugby, are naturally linked with gambling, and this is the result of the bombardment they have had since they were in an early age.
The issue was evident during the recent football World Cup, and with the start of the new football and rugby season, things are even getting worse. Many industry bosses prompted calls from the government as things are going ‘out of control’ on gambling ads.
John Pentin, editor in chief of CasinoBiggestBonus.com, said: ‘This looks like the right time to intervene, but it has to be led by the government. There is such competition between operators that it is difficult to imagine some sort of self-regulation.’
Even gambling companies have said to be ‘rather sympathetic to some sort of curb or review of the level of advertising’. This is because they also realise that at the moment, given the lack of regulation, some of them are probably spending too much as they are pressed by the competition and need to avoid losing their players.
Currently, the situation is that gambling adverts are allowed in the UK before 9pm as long as they are linked with a live sporting event like the Premier League, Rugby Union, Rugby World Cup and so on.
This is in stark contrast with Australia where the regulator wanted to unlink live sport with live betting and has decided to ban all betting commercials during live sporting events. In Italy, things have gone even further with the new government that has banned all form of gambling advertising in all media.
Even the likes of Paddy Power Betfair boss Peter Jackson said that he was open to reducing the number of ads but that it is difficult for the industry to do it on its own. He seems to be agreeing with John Pentin from Casino Aggregator site CasinoBiggestBonus on the fact that unless there will be legislation passed, less responsible operators will continue to raise the bar in advertising.
In the recent triennial review of gambling regulation, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said that there won’t be a restriction on TV advertising as the study didn’t prove that it was causing harm.
Many however have opposed that the study didn’t look at the effect it can have on children. For this reason, the charity GambleAware has started a research on the subject that however will only be ready in 2019.
Simon Thomas, the CEO of London’s Hippodrome Casino, said that there are valid concerns especially when high profile role models such as Premiership footballers, professional rugby players or cricketers will be linked strongly with gambling firms. He also believes that when children are concerned using the precautionary principle is the right thing to do.
One thing is quite clear is that if the gambling industry is also flagging that ads on TV are too frequent, then it is probably a good time to act. Operators are in fact admitting that the level of gambling advertising in sport has become a problem and it is time to take this very seriously.
Labour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, said: “The gambling industry has rarely been united over issues of social responsibility – so when operators are openly admitting that the level of gambling advertising has become a problem, we have to take it seriously.
In Rugby, the situation is still less concerning compared with other UK mainstream sports like football but nevertheless during live televised games children are still being subject to that kind of gambling bombardment.
‘It is however not too surprising that the likes of William Hill or Paddy Power Betfair are asking for the sector to be further regulated. In fact, those brands have a massive presence both online and offline and are well-known brands’, continued John Pentin. ‘I can imagine they will probably benefit from it as it will reduce their cost line and it will make a lot harder for smaller firms to build a brand’.
So, despite Rugby is not the sport that is causing the main issue here a regulation is likely to affect also our sport. This will mean less or no gambling ads during live games and maybe also a restriction on shirt sponsorships.