Game’s links with gambling ‘now very unhealthy’

Football shirt advertising by betting companies has risen “dramatically” since legislation was relaxed, new research has found.

Researchers found that 95% of football shirt sponsorship deals with English clubs included in the study were struck since 2005 legislation was passed.

Before 2005, they could only find four shirt sponsorship deals between English clubs and gambling companies in their dataset.

The researchers, from Glasgow University and Healthy Stadia, warned that gambling is a public health issue with potential for harm and called on UK legislators and governing bodies of sport to urgently revisit the relationship between football and gambling industry sponsorship.

Dr Chris Bunn, of the institute of health and wellbeing at Glasgow University, said: “The number of gambling firms sponsoring the shirts of major football clubs has increased dramatically since legislation was relaxed in 2005.

“The intensification of the relationship between football and gambling advertising is highly likely to contribute to the normalisation of gambling, or what some have called the ‘gamblification’ of sports.”

Robin Ireland, director of research at Healthy Stadia, said: “We suggest that the relationship between football and gambling is now very unhealthy.”

Picture: PA. West Ham manager David Moyes. The Hammers are one of a number of clubs whose shirts bear the name of a betting company.