Seven Soccer Teams from the UK Face Backlash for Showing Direct Links to Betting Pages

By John Isaac,
Editor at online-gambling.com

John Isaac Editor at online-gambling.com

John Isaac is an editor with many years of experience in the gambling industry. He writes expert articles on card games like blackjack and poker. In addition, he is also well aware of the US gambling laws and the Indian and Dutch gambling markets. You can rely on verified information and insightful details.

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Last updated: November 13, 2021

Seven English soccer teams face severe backlash for displaying links of direct betting sites on websites page that has designated for children, reported BBC. Among the seven soccer teams were some famous EPL teams such as Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Aston Villa, and West Ham. The teams have an immense following of young fans, and putting out such advertisements is troublesome.

By putting up these links on their websites, the teams violated multiple regulations for gambling advertising, including the UK Gambling Commission, in addition to the country’s advertising codes, which are regulated by the Committee of Advertising Practice.

The West Ham displayed a direct link to Betway, a betting site, and the team’s main sponsor. The links had displayed on the website’s junior Coloring page. It has later removed due to the multiple Reports. The rest of the six teams were relatively quick in removing the inappropriate link from the websites.

The Gambling Commission to Further Investigate the Case

“We sincerely regret this error and have adjusted our practices to ensure this does not happen again. We apologize for any offense caused” – stated a Tottenham spokesperson.

Apart from the EPL teams, some teams from the second-tier championship were also involved in the act. These teams included Millwall, QPR, and Reading.

QPR later released a statement saying that they acknowledge and respect the issue, which was raised. And that the link has been removed from their website. The team management is also conducting an investigation and will make sure that no such thing happens again.

The Gambling Commission of the UK also assured the fans that they would conduct a thorough investigation on the issue. And will make sure no team breaches the regulations in the future.

In a statement, the commission said that “it was unlawful to show gambling advertisements on web pages that have targeted to audiences under-18.”

It further added that it should be ensured by sports teams that the content on children’s web pages should be friendly to their age. And gambling companies should also regulate where their logos and advertisements have shown.

Potential Ad Ban

The UK and the US are poles apart when it comes to liberalizing sports betting. It is feared in the UK by critics that gambling is getting normalized for children due to the advertisements around soccer. According to a survey, eight teams in the English Premier League (EPL) have signed sponsorship deals with betting companies for jerseys. In addition, 17 teams in the championship have gotten themselves betting partners. These companies will be advertising on the teams’ websites as well as in the stadiums.

In respect to recent events, it has expected that lawmakers will ban advertising for betting companies in the new Gambling Act. But, it is feared that this would add to the financial hardships faced by multiple soccer teams that play in low-tier leagues.

Gambling regulators in the UK became much stricter lately in an attempt to protect children and also people who are addicted to gambling, therefore, cases like this are being fully investigated in order to be prevented.