Welsh Labour MP Jo Stevens believes the liberalization of gambling in the United Kingdom that occurred more than a decade ago was a rushed decision. Ms. Stevens talked to BBC Two presenter Victoria Derbyshire about the pending publication of the government’s review of the nation’s gambling industry.
The Cardiff Central MP, who is a member of the Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee said that gambling operators should be denied brand exposure across sports venues as well as shirt sponsorships. Ms. Stevens explained that parties have grown extremely concerned about the link between gambling advertising and rising problem gambling and gambling addiction rates.
The Labour MP also pointed to the fact that gambling companies spend enormous amounts of money to advertise their products. As reported by Sporting Intelligence earlier this year, operators invested £281.8 million in Premier League sponsorships. The figure reflects a massive increase from the 2010-11 football season, when the amount of £100.45 was spent by operators on similar deals. It is also important to note that sponsorships secure with gambling companies with huge brand exposure during fixtures.
A 2016 report by research firm Nielsen showed that UK-facing gambling operators spent £456 million on TV ads in the period between 2012 and 2015. In 2015, the amount of £118.5 million was invested into gambling advertising content, the figure reflecting a 46% increase from 2012.
Ms. Stevens told Victoria Derbyshire that the gambling industry would not be putting that much money into advertising, if it did not reap massive benefits from its efforts.
Technology and Its Dangers
The Labour MP also dwelt on the legalization of online gambling in the mid-2000s and the ensuing consequences from the move. Ms. Stevens said that they had apparently failed to estimate the risks of the liberalization of the market in a manner that allowed remote operators to target UK players. The politician further explained that back in 2007 when the Gambling Act 2005 was enacted they knew little of what technology could and would bring to the nation’s gambling industry.
Ms. Stevens called for curbs in the way gambling services, including online ones, are provided, advertised, and regulated, stating that it is about time the government repaired the damage done more a decade ago. The Wales MP said the industry review was long overdue, pointing to Belgium and Australia as examples of countries where gambling sponsorships of sports clubs were limited.
As mentioned above, there have been growing concerns about the proliferation of gambling through advertising and how this affects vulnerable people. With half a million gambling addicts and over two million people at risk, Ms. Stevens said that her party has changed its stance since it liberalized the nation’s gambling market back in the mid-2000s and that it will now support any restrictions that would decrease problem gambling rates.
The UK government is set to release its review of the gambling industry by the end of October or early in November. The highly controversial fixed-odds betting terminals will be the main focus of the report, but it is believed that it will also recommend curbs in the way gambling products are advertised on television.
It is yet to be seen how the iGaming sector, which last year officially became the UK gambling industry’s largest one, will be discussed in the upcoming review.
