Sport: Gambling Advertising

Paul Blomfield Excerpts

Wednesday 13th March 2024 Westminster Hall

[Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to contribute to this debate with you in the Chair, Sir Christopher. I think it is the first time in 14 years that I have been called after the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), but I am delighted to have been, because he made a fine speech. I also congratulate the hon. Member for Inverclyde (Ronnie Cowan) on securing the debate and on how he introduced it. I also congratulate the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) on struggling through against illness to make the case, which I know he feels passionately about.

It is certainly timely that we debate this issue now, in the context of the gambling reform that is following on from the White Paper. It is important, because we need to look at the context in which we saw the White Paper and in which we are having this debate, which is the increasing level of gambling addiction. I am a Sheffield United season ticket holder. It is not easy. [Interruption.] I have to say to the hon. Member for Inverclyde that there are not many moments of joy at Bramall Lane at the moment. I have watched them for 61 years now, but over the past couple of decades I have seen the increasing dominance of gambling advertising throughout the game, and that is not simply when we are having one of our fleeting moments in the premier league. I am conscious that that is only the tip of an iceberg in terms of the online promotion of gambling.

Over that same period, I have seen the increase in gambling harm. Jack Ritchie, my constituent, of whom many people here know, was also a passionate Sheffield United fan, but he took his own life due to gambling addiction—one of an estimated 400 each year, according to Public Health England. A survey by YouGov found up to 1.44 million adults in the UK harmed directly by gambling. The NHS is picking up the pieces, setting up specialist gambling addiction clinics across the country. Last year, the NHS announced seven new clinics, with one opening in Sheffield this month.

What we are dealing with is recognised by the Government and the NHS as a health issue, and what do we do with other health problems? We treat them, but we also have prevention strategies. The Government’s White Paper provides a strong prevention strategy and, like the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green, I commend them on it. There is much in there that takes us significantly forward, but it sidesteps one important point, which is advertising and how betting ads flood our sports—football in particular.

Others have pointed out the estimate that 3,500 betting logos are visible during a single televised premier league match; that is extraordinary. That is a gambling logo every 16 seconds during the average game. According to calculations from Gambling with Lives, which my hon. Friend the Member for Luton South (Rachel Hopkins) mentioned, out of 2,370 premier league and English football league games this season, only 19 will not feature gambling ads. I join others in commending Luton, and I hope that they might, along with Sheffield United, escape relegation.

I mentioned harm to adults, but the hon. Member for Strangford and others were right to also focus on the harm to young people. That should worry us even more. According to the Gambling Commission, 80,000 UK children are addicted to gambling or at risk of gambling addiction. The commission says that 40% of 11 to 17-year-olds have engaged in some form of gambling over the last 12 months, which is a higher proportion than those who participated in other risk-taking activities, with 20% vaping, 9% having smoked a cigarette, and 8% having taken illegal drugs. On all of those other high-risk activities we take action, and we certainly do not advertise those products.

The 2023 study by Sheffield and Glasgow universities found that the more people are exposed to betting advertising, the more likely they are to gamble—that should not be a surprise; it is what the gambling industry spends all that money for—and that increases the risk of developing an addiction. We know that children and young people are most likely to be affected. According to a study from the University of Bristol, gambling ads are almost four times—I think it is 3.9 times—more appealing to children and young people than they are to adults. They say that 11 out of 12 gambling content marketing ads triggered positive responses in children and young people, compared with only seven out of 12 for adults. The Gambling Commission reports that most gambling exposure for children is when watching TV, primarily sport, or being at a sports event.

It is not just an issue for campaigners; fans themselves want more to be done. A study by Survation found that a third of football fans are less likely to buy a shirt with gambling sponsors on it, and 58% think that too many clubs are sponsored by gambling companies. Everton and Aston Villa fans have already shown that shirts without betting sponsors are more popular. When, at the end of the 2019-20 season, Everton and Villa ditched their gambling sponsors, shirt sales rose by 60% and 50% respectively.

Others have touched on self-regulation, the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green in particular, and some cite action by the Premier League, but that is not working. Football has had every chance to address gambling advertising. Premier league clubs voted to ban sponsorship deals with betting companies from 2026-27, but the ban does not include bans on shirt sleeves, pitch-side hoardings or other sites around the stadium. That is significant, considering that only 7% of the 3,500 logos are visible on the front of the shirt. Furthermore, as my hon. Friend the Member for Luton South pointed out, the industry’s voluntary whistle-to-whistle ban is completely ineffective. Research produced by the University of Bristol’s hub for gambling harms showed that football matches remain saturated by gambling messaging, and that over two thirds of fans feel that children are not prevented from seeing gambling ads at football.

Action must come from the Government, and indeed the Government in waiting. The Government publicly stated recently that online slots are one of the most addictive products. That is correct, but they still allow them to be promoted through football. The White Paper proposed gambling ad-free family areas in football grounds, but one year on nothing has been done. More matches are set to be screened every week from next season. It is clear that without Government intervention, more people, and particularly more children and young people, are going to be at risk of gambling harm.

The industry is running out of arguments to defend gambling advertising in sport. I am surprised that no Members are here to make this point—perhaps they are at Cheltenham—but we can anticipate, and we are already seeing, the industry pushing sports bodies and sports fans to press the case that their sport depends on the revenue that they get from advertising. That is an argument from scoundrels, and we have heard it all before. Big tobacco said the same about the importance of cigarette advertising in protecting individual sports, but we know that they were trying to limit damage to their reputation by association with sport. As we took action on cigarette advertising, so should we take action on gambling advertising. The industry will say, “Well, it’s not the premiership. It’s lower levels and it’s grassroot sport—the money is needed to sustain football.” Let us be clear: there is plenty of money in football. It is not distributed very well—we need more effective governance, and more of the money at the top to be shared right down the tiers of football—but football and other sports do not depend on the money from advertising.

I urge the Government to heed the wealth of evidence of the need for regulatory action and to deploy a precautionary approach, as with fixed odds betting terminals. Without action, the Department risks undermining the good progress that can be made from the White Paper. As the hon. Member for Inverclyde pointed out, sport is so important. It is hugely important to children and young people, and it is a force for so much good. We cannot let it be used anymore by the gambling industry for so much harm. Let us end advertising and sponsorship in sport without delay.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Stuart Andrew)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I thank the hon. Member for Inverclyde (Ronnie Cowan) for securing this important debate. His SNP colleague, the hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire North (Gavin Newlands), complained that his hon. Friend is pinching part of his constituency; as someone whose entire constituency is to be abolished, I certainly have some sympathy.

In all seriousness, it is important that we are having this debate, which raises the issue at a crucial moment in the Government’s commitment to tackling gambling harms. I thank all those who have contributed for their thoughtful comments. It has been valuable for me to hear the range of perspectives. Indeed, in my time as the gambling Minister I have welcomed the constructive engagement we have had, because I am keen to hear from all sides. I recognise that many people gamble safely, but equally I am always mindful of the families—I think we have all met them—who have gone through some of the most unimaginable pain.

The Government recognise the concerns that many have raised about the presence and impact of gambling advertising in general, and particularly in sport. Gambling advertising clearly remains an issue of vibrant debate, and rightly so. Colleagues have raised it with me directly and in the media since I took on the gambling brief just over a year ago. The debate on advertising encapsulates the balance we are aiming to strike on gambling regulation. We are looking at regulating an innovative and responsible gambling industry on the one hand, and at the duty of the Government to protect children and the wider public from gambling-related harm on the other.

As colleagues have mentioned, developments in technology have undoubtedly led to rapid changes in the gambling landscape. The smartphone era comes with risks and opportunities, so we need to strike the balance between freedom and protection. That is why we committed to a root-and-branch review of gambling legislation. We took an exhaustive look at the best available evidence, including on advertising, as part of our Gambling Act review. The White Paper that we published in April last year captures our vision for the sector, with a robust package of reforms aiming to mitigate the risks of gambling-related harm and seize the opportunities to prevent it as early as possible.

It has been said that we sidestepped the issue of advertising. I think that is slightly unfair. The evidence-led action on advertising forms an important part of that vision. The liberalisation of gambling advertising was one of the major changes introduced in the Gambling Act 2005, and we have undoubtedly witnessed the continual growth of gambling marketing since then. However, it is important to note that we have not seen an increase in gambling participation rates or population gambling harm rates over the same timeframe. Those have remained broadly the same. None the less, I recognise that a parallel change has been the increasingly visible integration of gambling advertising with sport. That is especially relevant to me as the Minister responsible for sport, alongside civil society.

In our Gambling Act review, we considered evidence that gambling brands provided 12% of sport sponsorship revenue. Gambling brands are most strongly present in top-tier football, as has been mentioned, where eight out of 20 premier league teams this season have front-of-shirt gambling sponsors. In fact, gambling sponsors contribute around £45 million a year across the English Football League’s three leagues, and a significantly higher proportion of revenue in the Scottish football leagues, as the hon. Member for Inverclyde mentioned. Gambling sponsorship also represents a significant source of income for sports other than football, with around £80 million in sponsorship revenue.

We know that sponsorship by gambling firms can have a level of impact on gambling behaviour. The Gambling Commission’s consumer journey research shows that seeing sponsorship is a “passive influence” on gambling behaviour, although it is far less influential than winning a significant amount of money or hearing about someone else’s big win. The evidence to date therefore shows that while gambling advertising around sport is widely noticed, it has a background effect when it comes to having an impact on gambling behaviour.

[Paul Blomfield]

I accept that the Minister is making an argument with integrity, but if advertising has such a marginal impact, why does he think the gambling industry spends so much on it?

[Stuart Andrew]

We have had this discussion before. One of the reasons that our White Paper has landed as well as it could do in a challenging policy area is that it has been developed through use of the very best evidence. I will come on to that point later, because I think there is further work to be done in this field.

The industry’s whistle-to-whistle ban has cut the number of pre-9 pm betting adverts to around a quarter of their previous level, as the hon. Member for Barnsley East (Stephanie Peacock) mentioned, and further cut the average number of sports betting adverts seen by children to just 0.3 per week. None the less, we also know that gambling sponsorship is one of the main ways children are exposed to gambling, and that gambling marketing can have a disproportionate impact on those already experiencing gambling harm. That is why the advertising rules have been strengthened since October 2022. Content that has a strong appeal for children, such as that involving top-flight footballers, and that creates a sense of urgency to gamble is banned from appearing in gambling adverts. This measure further protects children and vulnerable adults.

Following on from the gambling White Paper, we are in the process of implementing a comprehensive suite of protections, ranging from action on advertising, products and the way that gambling is provided to prevent gambling-related harms. In line with existing gambling advertising rules, as has already been mentioned, the Premier League’s decision to ban front-of-shirt sponsorship by gambling firms will commence by the end of the 2025-26 season.

I can also confirm that a cross-sport code of conduct for gambling sponsorship has been agreed by a number of the country’s major sports governing bodies, from the Premier League and the English Football League to the British Horseracing Authority, the England and Wales Cricket Board and others. Indeed, the Rugby Football League sought to build in the code’s provisions as part of its renewed agreement with Betfred. This landmark code fulfils a key commitment from the White Paper ahead of schedule, and will bind all domestic sports governing bodies to four core principles. First, all sports will ensure socially responsible promotion. Education and awareness will form a key part of all sports’ marketing activities, including in stadiums.

Financial Risk Checks for Gambling

Paul Blomfield Excerpts

Monday 26th February 2024 Westminster Hall

[Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central) (Lab)]

I join others in congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Neath (Christina Rees) on her thoughtful and balanced introduction to the debate. I find it fascinating that so many of the contributions to it have been about the horseracing industry. I had to check the petition again, because it mentions the horseracing industry only in the last sentence, as an afterthought. We would all want to defend and protect the horseracing industry, but I fear that in this debate it is being used as a wedge by a gambling industry that is using something for which there is great affection in order to prevent something that is doing much wider harm.

[Sir Iain Duncan Smith]

I apologise for intervening on the hon. Member, but this has been the case all along and in all the inquiries. The real damage lies in the slots, the fast gambling and the speed of all those chases, not in something that takes about four or five minutes to finish. This is all about the speed of gambling and the incentive to gamble quickly, quietly and in the darkness of one’s own room.

[Paul Blomfield]

I thank the right hon. Member, my friend in this context, for his intervention. He has done such good work on this issue, and on this point he is absolutely right.

I have become involved in gambling reform only in the past six years or so, following the death of one of my constituents, Jack Ritchie, as a result of gambling addiction. What I learned from the tragedy of Jack’s death was that often when people take their own lives it is because they are overwhelmed not by gambling debt, but by the addiction itself. When I talked to Jack’s parents, they were very clear—this echoes a point that the right hon. Member has made—that if there had been checks, balances and preventive measures in place at an early stage of Jack’s journey into addiction, it could have transformed the tragic outcome when he took his life.

Jack is not alone. According to Public Health England, over 400 people take their lives each year as a result of gambling. A recent Gambling Commission survey, which I think has been mentioned, found that 2.5% of the population—over 1.5 million people—score over eight on the problem gambling severity index.

[Philip Davies]

The hon. Gentleman has repeated this line that over 400 people a year die of suicide as a result of gambling—a figure that has been discredited many times and with which the Gambling Commission certainly would not align itself. Can he tell us how he has arrived at that figure? What methodology has he gone through? I think that when he does explain it, he will realise that it is a discredited figure.

[Paul Blomfield]

I was happy to take an intervention, in contrast with the hon. Member’s approach earlier, but I was simply citing the figures provided by Public Health England. I respect Public Health England, as I am sure—

[Philip Davies]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way on that point?

[Paul Blomfield]

No, I will not.

[Philip Davies]

The figures have been discredited, and it does not accept them any more.

[Paul Blomfield]

I am prepared to accept the figures from an established, respectable national body.

[Philip Davies]

But it does not accept those figures any more.

[Paul Blomfield]

I do not think that this is—

[Sir Edward Leigh (in the Chair)]

Order. Let’s not have a private bit. Let’s get on with it.

[Paul Blomfield]

I am very happy to get on with it. The point I was seeking to make is that gambling addiction is a health issue. The NHS will very shortly be opening a gambling harms clinic in my constituency. It will join a network of 15 across the country that are tackling the serious problem of gambling addiction. Hon. Members have asked, “What requires an intervention? What is the difference between gambling and going out and spending £150 on a meal, shopping and other leisure activities?”, butI do not see the NHS treating those activities as a serious health issue, as it does with gambling addiction.

[Matt Hancock]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way? I am a former Health Secretary.

[Paul Blomfield]

I know that the right hon. Member is a former Health Secretary.

[Matt Hancock]

I was the Secretary of State who introduced those gambling clinics.

[Paul Blomfield]

I know.

[Matt Hancock]

There was one beforehand. Will the hon. Gentleman address the question of the extent to which we know that those gambling harms are related to betting on horseracing—as opposed to these games of chance, which are so aggressive and have algorithms designed to promote addiction?

[Paul Blomfield]

I am happy to have taken that intervention, because I was not seeking to make that point. I was recognising the way in which horseracing is being used as a wedge issue to tackle a different problem, as has been echoed by the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) and my hon. Friend the Member for Swansea East (Carolyn Harris). There is a distinction, and we should not let horseracing be used to undermine the affordability checks that are needed in a different context.

The point I was making is that if this is a health issue, we need to have a prevention strategy, just as we do with other health problems. I commend the Government for the prevention strategy that they have developed with the gambling White Paper. Affordability checks are an important part of that strategy, but it is regrettable that the debate around them is generating more heat than light, as it has done today.

I can understand why, beyond racing, the gambling industry is keen to avoid checks. As my hon. Friend the Member for Swansea East pointed out, Gambling Commission research using the “Patterns of Play” data confirms that the most profitable 1% of accounts make 70.4% of gross gambling yield. Those are disproportionate profits derived from small numbers of players, who in many cases are gambling much more than they can afford to lose. Those people need to be protected. We know that harm can happen at relatively low levels of spend, so it is important that affordability checks be set low enough to prevent harm.

I understand the fears behind the petition. It is important that we spend time, as other colleagues have done, underlining how unobtrusive checks can be and, I am confident, will be. Affordability checks are nothing new, and contrary to suggestions from the industry, background checks on financial vulnerability could be frictionless, making use of already available data—data that we should remember is already used by the industry itself to monitor accounts and, in some cases, withhold winnings from players to regulate their losses. The data is there, and the industry is willing to use it in one context. Why not in this context, too?

We know that in the case of enhanced checks, only 0.3% of account holders would be expected to provide additional information—I think that point was made earlier. That is a tiny number in relation to the benefit that could be achieved through introducing the checks. The vast majority of checks can be done passively, using information that is in the public domain or required for registering an account. My hon. Friend the Member for Neath made the same point in her speech. It is also important that checks be done by independent, reputable third parties regulated by the FCA. We should bear that in mind, too.

I want to make a brief comment on the black market argument that has started to come up. This is the last refuge of rogues, really. When the tobacco industry had run out of every other argument to stop regulation, it said, “But what about the black market? Don’t do anything to us: it will force people to turn into black market smokers”—and they did not. We saw a successful public health strategy on tobacco. Payday lenders made the same argument when affordability checks were introduced in their sector, and we have not seen a significant movement from payday lenders to black market loan sharks.

Claims about the potential growth of the black market following more stringent regulations have been successfully challenged, including by the Gambling Commission, whose powers to address the issue of illegal sites will be further strengthened by provisions in the Criminal Justice Bill. I understand the difficulties in regulating the online world. We face rogue operators across the online world, but if we are prepared to tackle them in other spheres, why not in online gambling?

Affordability checks will play an important role. They must be set independently rather than by the industry, and set at a level that will protect those who need them most. I recognise that many people enjoy betting safely and without harm, and we can and should ensure that affordability checks are frictionless except in the most extreme circumstances. We cannot lose sight of the fact that affordability checks are about protecting people from harm and ensuring that the gambling industry is regulated in the right way.

I note the points made about things that have already been happening. Those things are happening because the industry knows that change is coming. If the industry had been left to its own devices, we would never have seen those sorts of measures.