Gambling adverts in live TV coverage of the Qatar 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup

Steve Sharman; Theodore Piper; Ellen McGrane; Philip W S Newall

doi:10.1080/16066359.2023.2245330

Gambling adverts in live TV coverage of the Qatar 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup

Steve Sharman^*, Theodore Piper, Ellen McGrane, Philip W S Newall

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Psychological Science

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

13 Citations (Scopus)

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Abstract

Background
Gambling marketing is ubiquitous in UK football and, despite gambling industry self-regulation such as the whistle-to-whistle ban, remains prominent in live TV coverage. Major international tournaments do not usually feature gambling pitch-side advertising and shirt sponsorship, increasing the importance of TV adverts during these high-profile competitions. The present study examined the prevalence and features of gambling adverts shown during the commercial broadcaster ITV’s live coverage of games in the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

Method
Each match shown live on ITV was recorded. For each gambling advert, the timing of the advert (pre-/during-/post-match), the advert category (financial inducements/live odds/safer gambling/brand awareness) and safer gambling messaging were recorded.

Results
Over the 30 matches analyzed, there were 156 adverts directly for gambling brands or products (M = 5.2, range 3 – 8), featuring adverts from eight different operators. The majority of adverts were shown pre-match (80.8%). Financial inducements were most commonly advertised (42.3%), followed by brand awareness adverts (26.9%). The safer gambling message ‘take time to think’ was shown in 70.5% of adverts. Adverts for lottery products did not feature any safer gambling messages.

Conclusions
Multiple gambling adverts were shown during each match of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, especially so pre-match. Pre-match adverts predominantly encourage viewers to gamble promptly, through financial inducements and boosted live odds. Any potential further legislation could therefore consider either further restrictions based on the entire broadcast, or by enforcing the use of specific safer gambling messages.

Original language	English
Journal	Addiction Research and Theory
Early online date	10 Aug 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2023.2245330
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 10 Aug 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
SS: Steve Sharman is funded by a UKRI Future Leader’s Fellowship (FLF). The FLF scheme is funded by UK Research and Innovation, Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Innovate UK, Medical Research Council (MRC), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). He has previously received funding from the Society for the Study of Addiction (SSA), and a King’s Prize Fellowship, funded by the Wellcome Trust and the London Law Trust. He has also received honorarium from Taylor Francis Publishing, the Academic Forum for the Study of Gambling (AFSG) funded by GREO, the SSA, Health and Social Care Wales, and the RANGES early career network. SS is a member of the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling – an advisory group of the Gambling Commission in Great Britain. SS has no conflicts of interest to declare. TP: Theodore Piper has no interests to declare. EM: Ellen McGrane is funded by a Wellcome Trust doctoral grant [224852/Z/21/Z]. EM has no conflicts of interest to declare. PN: Philip Newall is a member of the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling – an advisory group of the Gambling Commission in Great Britain, and in 2020 was a special advisor to the House of Lords Select Committee Enquiry on the Social and Economic Impact of the Gambling Industry. In the last three years Philip Newall has contributed to research projects funded by the Academic Forum for the Study of Gambling, Clean Up Gambling, Gambling Research Australia, NSW Responsible Gambling Fund, and the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, received travel and accommodation funding from Alberta Gambling Research Institute, and received open access fee funding from Gambling Research Exchange Ontario.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Research Groups and Themes

Gambling Harms

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@article{e589a2260ce74d0daf45684ae4fffea2,

title = "Gambling adverts in live TV coverage of the Qatar 2022 FIFA Men{\textquoteright}s World Cup",

abstract = "Background Gambling marketing is ubiquitous in UK football and, despite gambling industry self-regulation such as the whistle-to-whistle ban, remains prominent in live TV coverage. Major international tournaments do not usually feature gambling pitch-side advertising and shirt sponsorship, increasing the importance of TV adverts during these high-profile competitions. The present study examined the prevalence and features of gambling adverts shown during the commercial broadcaster ITV{\textquoteright}s live coverage of games in the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Method Each match shown live on ITV was recorded. For each gambling advert, the timing of the advert (pre-/during-/post-match), the advert category (financial inducements/live odds/safer gambling/brand awareness) and safer gambling messaging were recorded. Results Over the 30 matches analyzed, there were 156 adverts directly for gambling brands or products (M = 5.2, range 3 – 8), featuring adverts from eight different operators. The majority of adverts were shown pre-match (80.8\%). Financial inducements were most commonly advertised (42.3\%), followed by brand awareness adverts (26.9\%). The safer gambling message {\textquoteleft}take time to think{\textquoteright} was shown in 70.5\% of adverts. Adverts for lottery products did not feature any safer gambling messages. Conclusions Multiple gambling adverts were shown during each match of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, especially so pre-match. Pre-match adverts predominantly encourage viewers to gamble promptly, through financial inducements and boosted live odds. Any potential further legislation could therefore consider either further restrictions based on the entire broadcast, or by enforcing the use of specific safer gambling messages.",

author = "Steve Sharman and Theodore Piper and Ellen McGrane and Newall, \{Philip W S\}",

note = "Funding Information: SS: Steve Sharman is funded by a UKRI Future Leader{\textquoteright}s Fellowship (FLF). The FLF scheme is funded by UK Research and Innovation, Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Innovate UK, Medical Research Council (MRC), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). He has previously received funding from the Society for the Study of Addiction (SSA), and a King{\textquoteright}s Prize Fellowship, funded by the Wellcome Trust and the London Law Trust. He has also received honorarium from Taylor Francis Publishing, the Academic Forum for the Study of Gambling (AFSG) funded by GREO, the SSA, Health and Social Care Wales, and the RANGES early career network. SS is a member of the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling – an advisory group of the Gambling Commission in Great Britain. SS has no conflicts of interest to declare. TP: Theodore Piper has no interests to declare. EM: Ellen McGrane is funded by a Wellcome Trust doctoral grant [224852/Z/21/Z]. EM has no conflicts of interest to declare. PN: Philip Newall is a member of the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling – an advisory group of the Gambling Commission in Great Britain, and in 2020 was a special advisor to the House of Lords Select Committee Enquiry on the Social and Economic Impact of the Gambling Industry. In the last three years Philip Newall has contributed to research projects funded by the Academic Forum for the Study of Gambling, Clean Up Gambling, Gambling Research Australia, NSW Responsible Gambling Fund, and the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, received travel and accommodation funding from Alberta Gambling Research Institute, and received open access fee funding from Gambling Research Exchange Ontario. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor \& Francis Group.",

year = "2023",

month = aug,

day = "10",

doi = "10.1080/16066359.2023.2245330",

language = "English",

journal = "Addiction Research and Theory",

issn = "1606-6359",

publisher = "Informa Healthcare",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Gambling adverts in live TV coverage of the Qatar 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup

AU - Sharman, Steve

AU - Piper, Theodore

AU - McGrane, Ellen

AU - Newall, Philip W S

N1 - Funding Information: SS: Steve Sharman is funded by a UKRI Future Leader’s Fellowship (FLF). The FLF scheme is funded by UK Research and Innovation, Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Innovate UK, Medical Research Council (MRC), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). He has previously received funding from the Society for the Study of Addiction (SSA), and a King’s Prize Fellowship, funded by the Wellcome Trust and the London Law Trust. He has also received honorarium from Taylor Francis Publishing, the Academic Forum for the Study of Gambling (AFSG) funded by GREO, the SSA, Health and Social Care Wales, and the RANGES early career network. SS is a member of the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling – an advisory group of the Gambling Commission in Great Britain. SS has no conflicts of interest to declare. TP: Theodore Piper has no interests to declare. EM: Ellen McGrane is funded by a Wellcome Trust doctoral grant [224852/Z/21/Z]. EM has no conflicts of interest to declare. PN: Philip Newall is a member of the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling – an advisory group of the Gambling Commission in Great Britain, and in 2020 was a special advisor to the House of Lords Select Committee Enquiry on the Social and Economic Impact of the Gambling Industry. In the last three years Philip Newall has contributed to research projects funded by the Academic Forum for the Study of Gambling, Clean Up Gambling, Gambling Research Australia, NSW Responsible Gambling Fund, and the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, received travel and accommodation funding from Alberta Gambling Research Institute, and received open access fee funding from Gambling Research Exchange Ontario. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

PY - 2023/8/10

Y1 - 2023/8/10

N2 - Background Gambling marketing is ubiquitous in UK football and, despite gambling industry self-regulation such as the whistle-to-whistle ban, remains prominent in live TV coverage. Major international tournaments do not usually feature gambling pitch-side advertising and shirt sponsorship, increasing the importance of TV adverts during these high-profile competitions. The present study examined the prevalence and features of gambling adverts shown during the commercial broadcaster ITV’s live coverage of games in the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Method Each match shown live on ITV was recorded. For each gambling advert, the timing of the advert (pre-/during-/post-match), the advert category (financial inducements/live odds/safer gambling/brand awareness) and safer gambling messaging were recorded. Results Over the 30 matches analyzed, there were 156 adverts directly for gambling brands or products (M = 5.2, range 3 – 8), featuring adverts from eight different operators. The majority of adverts were shown pre-match (80.8%). Financial inducements were most commonly advertised (42.3%), followed by brand awareness adverts (26.9%). The safer gambling message ‘take time to think’ was shown in 70.5% of adverts. Adverts for lottery products did not feature any safer gambling messages. Conclusions Multiple gambling adverts were shown during each match of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, especially so pre-match. Pre-match adverts predominantly encourage viewers to gamble promptly, through financial inducements and boosted live odds. Any potential further legislation could therefore consider either further restrictions based on the entire broadcast, or by enforcing the use of specific safer gambling messages.

AB - Background Gambling marketing is ubiquitous in UK football and, despite gambling industry self-regulation such as the whistle-to-whistle ban, remains prominent in live TV coverage. Major international tournaments do not usually feature gambling pitch-side advertising and shirt sponsorship, increasing the importance of TV adverts during these high-profile competitions. The present study examined the prevalence and features of gambling adverts shown during the commercial broadcaster ITV’s live coverage of games in the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Method Each match shown live on ITV was recorded. For each gambling advert, the timing of the advert (pre-/during-/post-match), the advert category (financial inducements/live odds/safer gambling/brand awareness) and safer gambling messaging were recorded. Results Over the 30 matches analyzed, there were 156 adverts directly for gambling brands or products (M = 5.2, range 3 – 8), featuring adverts from eight different operators. The majority of adverts were shown pre-match (80.8%). Financial inducements were most commonly advertised (42.3%), followed by brand awareness adverts (26.9%). The safer gambling message ‘take time to think’ was shown in 70.5% of adverts. Adverts for lottery products did not feature any safer gambling messages. Conclusions Multiple gambling adverts were shown during each match of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, especially so pre-match. Pre-match adverts predominantly encourage viewers to gamble promptly, through financial inducements and boosted live odds. Any potential further legislation could therefore consider either further restrictions based on the entire broadcast, or by enforcing the use of specific safer gambling messages.

U2 - 10.1080/16066359.2023.2245330

DO - 10.1080/16066359.2023.2245330

M3 - Article (Academic Journal)

SN - 1606-6359

JO - Addiction Research and Theory

JF - Addiction Research and Theory

ER -

Gambling adverts in live TV coverage of the Qatar 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Research Groups and Themes

Access to Document

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