Spike in gambling messages in opening Premier League weekend 'doesn't surprise me'
John Myers' son Ryan took his own life in 2014 after struggling with gambling addiction
Gambling messages during the opening weekend of the Premier League season have almost trebled since last year.
A new report from the University of Bristol has found there were nearly 30,000 gambling messages counted across TV, radio and social media during a single weekend, compared to nearly 11,000 during the same period in 2023.
Ryan Myers took his own life in 2014 at the age of 27 after being bombarded with such messages.
His dad, John, said:
"t doesn't surprise me. This is their chance to get out early and get the next set of addicts because this they rely on addicts.
"The government has to step in"
"The government has to step in. The government has to make them do what they should be doing. Make them look after the people who are the most vulnerable.
They're not looking after the customers at all, not only the customers, but to do their own people. I've heard stories of people who work at gambling places, you know, betting shops and stuff like that. I've heard some horrendous stories of what happened to them as well.
"I'm big on the adverts for me and the texts that come in because as you know our Ryan, you the adverts dragging him in and he had a lot of texts when he was not gambling, trying to stop, he kept getting texts offering him more free bets and stuff like that.
"They should signpost to people who can help them"
"When people say they don't want to gamble anymore, it shouldn't be just a case of well it's up to you what you have, do you want six months? Do you want three months? Do you want a year?
Once somebody says they've got a gambling problem, the gambling industry should not only ban them, but should help them. They should signpost them to people who can help them, whether it's a charity, whether it's the NHS. They don't do anything like that."
During live broadcasts of six Premier League matches, findings showed gambling messages, including logos and ads shown during live matches, more than trebled from 6,966 at the same time last year to 23,690 this year – an increase of 240%.
Just one match contained 6,491 gambling messages, equating to around 30 per minute. In previous studies, gambling messages peaked at around 3,500 per match.
Dr Raffaello Rossi, a marketing researcher from the University of Bristol, said:
"This new evidence shows how much the industry is out of control – with gambling ads now flooding Premier League coverage. Just a few months ago, a new code of conduct was published by industry to curb marketing during football events, but the policy has had no impact on the volume whatsoever.
"It's a failure to protect the public"
"It’s clear that the industry's attempt to self-regulate is wholly inadequate and tokenistic. Despite having had years to put in place effective measures to protect consumers, the gambling industry continues to prioritise profit over safety.
"It’s more than a failure of policy – it’s a failure to protect the public and the problem has been allowed to proliferate unchecked. We must stop relying on ineffective self-regulation, which is designed to fail, and use existing legislation to restrict gambling marketing like most of our European counterparts. The Secretary of State has all the legal authority to act on this now."
Lord Foster of Bath, Chair of Peers for Gambling Reform, said:
"These statistics reveal the woeful inadequacies of industry self-regulation. Despite the purported ‘whistle-to-whistle’ ban, we continue to see games saturated with gambling advertising, sponsorship and marketing messages, with figures showing that the number of gambling messages in the opening weekend had more than doubled from the previous season to a staggering 29,145 messages.
"It is simply not good enough. The Government and the Gambling Commission must immediately act to reform gambling advertising, sponsorship and marketing. With political will, these reforms can be implemented now without the need for new legislation."
Former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton CBE, who experienced gambling problems himself, said:
"Last year's results were bad enough, but this year's are both shocking and disturbing. Gambling advertising during football events has become relentless, and this study clearly shows just how out of control it has become in the UK.
"What concerns us most is the impact on children, who are being exposed to gambling marketing at an unacceptable level. We are proud to be patrons of this study, which highlights a serious and growing problem that demands urgent action."
Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP, former Vice Chair of the Gambling Harms All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), added:
"This appalling evidence shows us that, as I warned previously, the industry could not be trusted to regulate itself. Sadly, the regulators are toothless and as a result we are all being flooded with adverts that the vast majority of us do not want to see.
"Enough is enough. This Government and the Gambling Commission must act swiftly to deliver regulation capable of meaningfully reducing exposure to gambling advertising and help save lives."
A government spokesperson said:
"We recognise the impact harmful gambling can have on individuals and their families and are absolutely committed to strengthening protections for those at risk."
"Ministers are currently considering the full range of gambling policy, including on advertising and sponsorship, and will update in due course."