Gambling and football have always come one along the other. Some people say that football is addicted to gambling, because whenever football matches are played, thousands of bets are placed. When major tournaments like the Euros or the World Cup are taking place, you can expect to find advertisements everywhere, especially online. This is also a subject of some controversy, given that not everyone is satisfied with the state of betting and its connection to sports, namely football. How much advertising is too much?
Draw the Line – Children are Off the Table
As far as some gambling companies are ready to take things, most agree that children should never be subjected to gambling or betting advertisements. While in many countries, the legal age for gambling is 18 or 21, gambling companies are also aware of what gambling advertisements might do to children, let alone their own bank accounts. Being fined by the government is not something any company wants.
Should Gambling Companies Sponsor Teams?
The reality is that at least more than half of England’s top clubs have gambling companies as their sponsors and the story is similar in other countries, as well. But should that be as it is? Given that the names of these companies are on the jerseys of teams means that everyone watching the matches will be able to see the names and effectively know about the gambling company.
Whether people decide to act on this and start betting is a different story, as most people don’t. Those who do, however, might be enticed to gamble more, or change their bookmaker, depending on who the current sponsor of their favorite team is. This might not be good for everyone. But, on the other hand, football clubs having sponsors means more money for the players and more coverage for the sport, which is already the most popular one in the world. Whether these things are good or bad for football in general, remains to be seen.
Betting Advertising on TV – Is it Too Much?
The UK, for example, thinks that TV and broadcast advertisements of betting are too much. Even betting companies have agreed to stop their advertisements during matches. This is important, as it will definitely decrease profit, even by a little, for these companies. It is also important as people will be less exposed to the possibility of gambling and eventually problem gambling, including children.
Whether jerseys will follow remains to be seen, albeit that is probably pushing it too much. Football, is in fact, closely connected to gambling, especially in Europe.
What About Stadium Advertising?
Even though TV adverts have been banned in the UK, everyone can still see the logos of the companies on the digital screens on the stadiums. Keep in mind that this is just the UK, and that it does not at all account for the rest of the world, where betting advertisements are frequent during football matches, especially prominent ones.
Aside from these, there are many other options for betting companies to advertise, including football streaming apps and various online portals. While betting adverts might be too much for some people, especially when it comes to children seeing them, most experts agree that they will be here for quite some time, despite the controversial opinion on them.
