Agreement reached on ‘whistle-to-whistle’ ban on TV ads during sports matches in Britain

The gambling companies in Britain have accepted a blanket ban on TV advertising during live sports matches.

The ban is total. There will not be any gambling ad on TV during a certain period that starts a defined time before the game’s start tilled a defined time after the end of the match. The ban will be applicable to all matches that start before 9 pm.

Horse racing has been exempted from the ban. All the major betting houses, Bet365, Ladbrokes, Paddy Power, William Hill, Sky Bet, Betfred, Betfair, Stan James and Gala Coral—which together make up the Remote Gambling Association (RGA)—gave their nod to the ban as political pressure mounts around the amount of gambling advertisements on TV.

During the World Cup earlier this year, over 90 minutes of betting adverts were broadcasted on British TV. Anti-gambling campaigners say the amount of gambling ads on TV “normalises” betting. A report by the Gambling Commission suggests around 430,000 Brits are addicted to gambling. Of those, around 25,000 are 16 or under.

The Labour Party called for a similar ban in September, with deputy leader Tom Watson calling gambling “a public health emergency.”

It also proposed blocking the use of credit cards to pay for bets and introducing a levy on gambling operators to help pay for addiction treatment.

The ban on TV advertising must be ratified by the Industry Group for Responsible Gambling before coming into force, but this is reportedly a formality. It is expected to hit football hardest. There are currently multiple gambling adverts promoting in-play betting during half-time of every televised game. Almost 60 per cent of Premier League and Championship clubs currently have a betting firm as their shirt sponsor.