Football stars aged 16 wear sports betting adverts on their shirts as loophole allows under-25s to promote gambling on team strips
- Celebrities and sport stars under 25 are banned from promoting gambling
- But logos on team strips are not considered advertising under the rules
- Campaigners said it was ‘outrageous’ that ministers knew of the loophole
Children are being exposed to betting adverts worn by footballers as young as 16 because of a legal loophole.
Celebrities and sporting stars under the age of 25 are banned from promoting gambling in light of their influence over young people.
However logos emblazoned on team strips are not considered advertising under the rules.
Kaide Gordon, 16, who is widely regarded as one of the brightest talents in English football, has been able to wear a shirt advertising 32Red while playing for Derby County
It means 16-year-old Kaide Gordon, who is widely regarded as one of the brightest talents in English football, has been able to wear a shirt advertising 32Red while playing for Derby County.
And Harvey Elliot was 16 when he made his debut for Fulham last season wearing a shirt bearing the logo of Dafabet.
They are just two of scores of young players promoting gambling brands even though some are too young to wager themselves.
Campaigners said it was ‘outrageous’ that ministers knew of the loophole but had failed to act.
Harvey Elliot was 16 when he made his debut for Fulham last season wearing a shirt bearing the logo of Dafabet
More than half of Premier League and English Football League teams have a gambling company as their primary shirt sponsor, generating an estimated £110million in income.
The revelations will fuel calls for a clampdown under the review of gaming laws launched last month.
Sports minister Nigel Huddleston has told MPs that under current regulations ‘adverts must never be targeted at children’. But he added: ‘The depiction of a team football shirt which features the logo of a gambling operator is not considered advertising.’
Former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton, who is campaigning for curbs on gambling advertising in football, said: ‘It beggars belief that a government minister can say that shirt sponsorship is not advertising – especially when it is being displayed on the shirts of teenage stars. Thousands of young fans are being taught they can’t enjoy the game without a bet. It’s time to kick gambling advertising out of football.’
More than half of Premier League and English Football League teams have a gambling company as their primary shirt sponsor
Richard Holden, a Tory member of the Commons public accounts committee, said: ‘The time for semantic games is long past. It’s outrageous that there’s a loophole that suggests shirt sponsorship is not advertising.
‘If it looks like advertising, smells like advertising and is paid for to promote a brand – it’s advertising.’
Dr Alan Smith, Bishop of St Albans and spokesman for the Church of England on gambling issues, said: ‘Children are gambling at a worrying level. By using children to advertise, some operators are clearly wanting to appeal to the young. The Government and the Advertising Standards Authority must take action.
‘That means reversing the gamblification of sport – football must be returned to its fans, not kept in the hands of betting executives.’
The ASA’s rules state that ‘individuals who are or appear to be under 25 are explicitly prohibited from appearing in gambling marketing communications’.
Former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton is campaigning for curbs on gambling advertising in football
But scores of footballers under the age of 25 play in the top divisions and, without the exemption for shirt sponsorship, would normally be banned from advertising gambling.
A study found that the BBC Match of the Day children’s football magazine had a ‘gambling logo on every other page’ because of the adverts on players’ shirts. In one edition of the weekly magazine, which is read by 38,000 children aged from six to 14, there were 52 logos.
James Grimes of The Big Step campaign group, said: ‘Teenage footballers are relatable to children and should not be promoting online casinos, a product they aren’t old enough to use themselves.’
Top names have also worked as ‘ambassadors’ for bookmakers or appeared in their adverts, including Jose Mourinho, Gary Savage, Alan Shearer, Jermaine Jenas and Harry Redknapp. The Mail has been calling for tighter regulations on advertising under the Stop the Gambling Predators campaign.
The Betting and Gaming Council said: ‘BGC members – who have a zero-tolerance attitude to gambling by under-18s – adhere to the strict rules set out by the ASA.
‘Last year we published an updated industry code for socially responsible advertising to further prevent those aged under 18 from seeing betting ads online.’
The ASA said: ‘Sponsorship has always fallen outside the remit of the Advertising Code because, in and of itself, it’s an arrangement or contract between a brand and another party, rather than paid-for ad space, and is therefore not classed as advertising.’
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport was approached for comment.
There are thought to be 400,000 gambling addicts in the UK, including 55,000 children.
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