Massive spike in football shirt advertising by betting companies raises health concerns

There has been a massive spike in football shirt advertising by betting companies leading to public health concerns, research by the University of Glasgow and Healthy Stadia published today (18 January 2018) has revealed. A total of 95% (75/79) of football shirt sponsorship deals with English clubs included in the study were struck since 2005 legislation was passed. As football becomes more visibly entwined with gambling marketing there are growing concerns that gambling is being "normalised" through sport. The Institute of Public Policy Research recently estimated that the burden gambling places on the public purse in the UK could be as great as £1.16bn per year. The research is recommending that UK legislators and governing bodies of sport urgently revisit the relationship between football and gambling industry sponsorship. The findings are published in the Journal, Soccer & Society , and is entitled "Shirt Sponsorship by Gambling Companies in the English and Scottish Premier Leagues: global reach and public health concerns" . Dr Chris Bunn, of the Institute of Health and Wellbeing at the University of Glasgow, said: "The number of gambling firms sponsoring the shirts of major football clubs has increased dramatically since legislation was relaxed in 2005.