England, Feb 18: Television gambling adverts during the 2022 FIFA World Cup significantly boosted betting activity in England, according to new research from the University of Sheffield, intensifying calls for tighter regulation of gambling promotions during live sport.
The study tracked betting behaviour among men aged 18 to 45 while they watched live World Cup coverage. Researchers found that football betting frequency rose by 16 to 24 per cent during the tournament. Viewers were also between 22 and 33 per cent more likely to place a bet during matches broadcast on channels carrying gambling advertisements.
For lead author Ellen McGrane, a research associate at the university’s School of Medicine and Population Health, the findings highlight how powerful in-game marketing can be.
“These television adverts may be acting as powerful triggers during live games, encouraging betting even among people who had no prior intention to gamble,” McGrane said.
She stressed that the effect went beyond competition between bookmakers. “One of our key findings was that this advertising doesn’t simply shift people between betting platforms – it increases the overall amount of gambling taking place,” she added.
McGrane pointed to broader public health evidence showing that when gambling participation increases across a population, so too does gambling-related harm. She argued that existing safeguards may not be sufficient, particularly during major televised events that draw huge audiences.
The 2022 tournament was one such event. Global betting on the World Cup was projected to reach USD 35 billion, according to a Bloomberg estimate. The final between Argentina and France became the second-most bet sporting event in US history, behind the Super Bowl.
OpenBet data showed more than 12 million bets were placed on the US men’s national team during the competition, while the final alone generated 7.9 million betting transactions.
An estimated 1.5 billion people watched the match worldwide. Concerns about gambling exposure during live sport are not new. Separate research from the University of Bristol has cast doubt on the effectiveness of the gambling industry’s voluntary “whistle-to-whistle ban” on television adverts, introduced in 2019.
In one Premier League fixture between Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers, researchers recorded 5,262 instances of gambling advertising, with only nine per cent appearing before or after the match. During the opening round of the 2025/26 Premier League season, 13,200 gambling messages were identified during the supposed ban period, and 27,440 betting advertisements were logged across the opening weekend.
Of those, 2,412 promoted 13 gambling companies not licensed to operate in the UK. “Year on year, the problem seems to get worse, despite the industry’s promises of better self-regulation,” said Dr Raffaello Rossi of the University of Bristol.
“The evidence is now overwhelming – self-regulation has failed. Voluntary codes are protecting profits, not fans,” he added.
The industry, however, disputes that advertising is out of control. The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) said overall advertising spend by licensed operators has declined over the past five years and defended the whistle-to-whistle ban, saying it reduced the number of television betting adverts seen by children during live sport by 97 per cent when introduced.
“Bookmakers already face some of the toughest advertising rules anywhere,” a BGC spokesperson said, arguing that unregulated and illegal gambling websites pose the greater threat because they carry out no age checks and offer no consumer protections.
Public health experts counter that gambling marketing remains deeply embedded in live sport broadcasts and stadium environments. Although recent reviews of UK gambling laws have addressed issues such as taxation, treatment services and stake limits, advertising rules have remained unchanged.
With future international tournaments on the horizon, researchers are urging policymakers to revisit those rules — warning that without stronger oversight, the blend of sport, spectacle and saturation advertising could continue to drive betting levels higher.
