Last week, I wrote an article on football shirt sponsorship and how key it is to bookies marketing efforts. Therefore, I thought it would be good to write a relating article on why Labour would ban bookies advertising on football shirts if they were in power. It comes after Labour deputy leader, Tom Watson, has lead criticism against the gambling companies and demanded stricter legislation.
In recent years and months, gambling companies have been under increasing pressure to sort out their behaviour in terms of advertising and problem gamblers. According to recent reports there are over 2 million people who are problem gamblers or at risk of problem gambling. This is the highest number ever recorded and in my opinion it’s no surprise.
Here at The Sure Bettor, we don’t condone gambling. It’s a waste of money and time in our minds. You might as well put that effort in to making money online through matched betting, a risk free method to profit from the bookmakers.
Here’s what Tom Watson said: ‘Football has to play its part in tackling Britain’s hidden epidemic of gambling addiction.’
‘Shirt sponsorship sends out a message that football clubs don’t take problem gambling among their own fans seriously enough. It puts gambling brands in front of fans of all ages, not just at matches but on broadcasts and highlights packages on both commercial television and the BBC.’
Where this Leaves the Betting Industry
Obviously it’s early stages and it could be argued that Labour are speaking out to ramp up the pressure on the current government, just before they release their own triennial review of the betting industry.
However, it’s still a big statement in terms of what labour would do, if and when they come to power.
As you probably know, the betting industry relies heavily around advertising and promoting their latest offers and bonuses. Their marketing efforts work hand in hand with football thanks to the natural fit between the two industries. This year betting companies have partnered with 8 of the 20 Premier League teams, worth a combined £47.3 million.
Whilst I wouldn’t have thought a ban on football shirt advertising would hit the bookies too hard, any future bans could be more significant. There have been notions flying around the industry that bans could be placed on TV advertising, especially during the day, when children are watching football games for example. Think of the number of adverts you see from Bet365, Ladbrokes or Betway when the football is on. There’s a lot!
This move would certainly hit the betting industry hard, however, I think this is at least a couple of years down the line. Rest assured the bookies will be fighting their own corner when this time comes. They’ll likely argue a huge number of jobs will be lost if restrictions are too tight.
Government Triennial Betting Review
It will be interesting to see what the current Conservative party find in their triennial review at the end of 2017. Rumours suggest they will come down heavily on FOBTs (Fixed-odds betting terminals). These betting machines are known as the ‘crack cocaine of gambling.’ Punters can stake up to £100 every 20 seconds which is ridiculous. What creates the problem is when punters chase their losses and gamble away more than they have. According to a number of reports, the Government wants to limit the maximum stake to £2.
Whilst this won’t solve the problem gambling issue alone, it will go a long way to help the industry. On the other side of the coin, this will greatly reduce betting companies revenues, potentially leading to job losses. It’s a tricky issue but something certainly needs to be done.
What about Matched Betting?
Thankfully for us matched bettors we’ll still be able to profit from bookie promotions. For some reason, the bookies rarely promote offers and bonuses on the television. It’s mostly online where we find most of the offers available. So we’ll still have lots of free bets and promotions to profit from, which you can find all in one area within our members only area.
However, if these bans do go ahead, betting companies will likely receive less exposure which could result in less revenues. This could mean the number of offers the bookies promote decreases.
At least for the time being matched betting will not be affected at all. We’ll be the first ones to let you know if and when there are any changes.
I hope you enjoyed this article.
What am I missing here? Let me know in the comments below and I’ll add it to the article.
Until next time.