Sports Betting

Welcome to the Chris Farnell blog. Sports gambling has a long history in the UK and was first legalised by the Betting and Gaming Act 1960. It is estimated to generate £15 billion in annual revenues and is growing at a rate of up to 8% per year. However, following increased media and parliamentary scrutiny in recent years, with heightened public awareness of issues such as gambling addiction, the industry now faces potentially drastic legislative or regulatory interference.

The Conservative Party’s 2019 UK election manifesto promised to “take action to tackle gambling addiction” and made a commitment to review the Gambling Act. With a view to reducing gambling harm, a House of Lords Select Committee report (the HL Report) urged the Government to enact over 50 recommendations before commencing the upcoming Review. Once the Government’s response, required by the end of September, is received, the House of Lords is expected to debate the HL Report, although the timeframe for such debate has not been fixed. 

Meanwhile, the Gambling Commission has been increasingly flexing its enforcement powers, issuing its record fine by some distance of £11.6m to Betway for accepting stolen money from high-spending and potentially addicted ‘VIP’ customers. At the same time, the Gambling Commission has received criticism for its failure to revoke Betway’s licence.

It is anticipated that one of the most likely measures to be introduced by the Review is the gradual prohibition of advertising by betting operators on sports kits and at sports grounds. Perhaps in anticipation of the Review, and a potential ban, betting companies have already come up with novel ways of reacting to a changing public attitude towards sponsorship. 

At this crossroads in the relationship between the sports and gambling industries, companies may weigh up their odds by reflecting on the diverse reactions to imaginative approaches to sports sponsorship. However, in the face of heightened media attention on issues surrounding gambling harm, reflected in increased parliamentary scrutiny of the relationship between gambling and sports, the odds are stacked in favour of a legislative and regulatory overhaul. This could well lead to tighter controls in the UK sports betting industry, particularly in relation to sports sponsorship and advertising.

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Chris Farnell aims to keep you completely up to date with any changes in UK legislation. Learn more about Chris Farnell online here. Visit the IPS Law website here.  Read the latest Chris Farnell Charlton news here.