According to a university report, the Premier League is experiencing a significant increase in wagering marketing

The University of Bristol has conducted a recent study that has revealed a substantial increase in gambling-related marketing during the opening weekend of the Premier League season.

The research indicates that the number of gambling messages has nearly tripled in comparison to the same period last year, which has led to concerns regarding the efficacy of industry self-regulation and the potential impact on followers.

An increase from the 10,999 recorded last year was observed in the investigation, which tallied 29,145 wagering messages across TV, radio, and social media during a single weekend.

The research also uncovered a significant amount of wagering marketing on social media platforms, with advertisements being viewed more than 24 million times. It is important to note that 74% of these content marketing posts were not plainly identifiable as advertisements, which could potentially violate advertising regulations.

The results have prompted calls for stricter regulation of gambling marketing in football from experts, politicians, and former athletes. They contend that the current self-regulation model is insufficient to safeguard consumers, particularly children and vulnerable individuals, from excessive exposure to gambling messages.

Dr. Raffaello Rossi, the Co-Lead Author of the study, stated, "This new evidence demonstrates the extent to which the industry is out of control, as gambling advertisements are now inundating Premier League coverage." The industry recently implemented a new code of conduct to regulate marketing during football events; however, the policy has not had any discernible effect on the volume.

"It is not merely a failure of policy; it is a failure to safeguard the public, and the issue has been permitted to spread unchecked." We must cease relying on ineffective self-regulation, which is intentionally designed to fail, and instead employ extant legislation to restrict gambling marketing, as most of our European counterparts do.

The University of Bristol's research team has reported over 100 potentially non-compliant social media ads to the Advertising Standards Authority for investigation in light of the findings.