How Labour opened the floodgates for bookies

BRITAIN has seen an explosion of gambling sponsorship in football since Labour’s relaxation of betting rules, say researchers.

The prevalence of the bookmakers’ adverts ‘normalises’ betting and has resulted in the public being exposed to ‘inducements to gamble’, they warn.

Before 2005, when gambling was more strictly controlled, four Premier League and Scottish Premier League teams were sponsored by bookies.

But since Labour relaxed betting legislation there have been 75 deals in which gambling firms have plastered their logos on the chests of football stars. The study by Glasgow University warns that such adverts are luring vulnerable children and adults into gambling.

Dr Chris Bunn, whose research was published in the journal Soccer & Society, said: ‘We should be concerned about the trend, given the consequence and cost disordered gambling can have for individuals, families and society.’

The 2005 Gambling Act lifted bans on TV adverts for casinos, bookmakers and betting websites.