Almost 30,000 gambling adverts were shown on TV, radio and social media during the opening weekend of this season’s English Premier League, according to a report from the University of Bristol.
Funded by a grant from GambleAware, the research revealed that gambling advertisements have nearly tripled since last year. The 2024-25 Premier League season began on August 16.
During the opening round, the university recorded 29,145 advertisements, compared to 10,999 the previous year. This includes advertising boards around the pitch and logos on shirts displayed in live-streamed matches and match coverage.
240% increase in in-game TV messages
The researchers identified television as the main area of dissemination. The report found that the number of game messages that appeared during the six games shown on the opening weekend totaled 23,690, a 240% increase over last year.
The most affected match was West Ham United against Aston Villa, which featured 6,491 match messages, around 30 per minute. In previous studies, gaming messages peaked at around 3,500 per game.
Researchers detected more than 10,000 game messages during the match. The report called the “whistle-to-whistle” gaming advert ban – which prevents gaming adverts from appearing during televised matches – as “ineffective”.
Lord Foster of Bath also criticized current regulation, calling it “simply inadequate”. He highlighted that despite the “whistle to whistle” ban, matches are still saturated with gaming advertising.
The report also highlighted how gambling operators are using social media to connect with more consumers. Consumers viewed game ads on social media more than 24 million times in opening weekend.
Partnerships between Premier League clubs and bookmakers
Importantly, the Premier League will ban shirt sponsorships with gaming companies from the end of the 2025-26 season to combat increased exposure to gambling during football matches.
However, the pending initiative has not stopped operators from signing new contracts with teams that will end next year. Currently, bookmakers represent more than half of the Premier League’s main sponsors.
In fact, betting industry sponsorship in England’s top football league experienced an impressive 1,000% growth between the 2002-2003 and 2024-2025 seasons. During this period, the number of teams supported by companies in the sector jumped from just 1 to 11 of the 20 participating clubs.
