Should Rugby be Looking Into its Relationship With Gambling?

There has been a lot of conversations around the relationship between football and the gambling industry in recent years, with the Conservative Party’s 2019 election manifesto stating that they would conduct a full review into the 2005 Gambling Act, and that they would bring gambling legislation “into the digital age”. Betting advertising has become extremely entrenched into football and campaigners have been very forthright in their condemnation of the sport’s relationship with the industry. The conversations surrounding sponsorships by both popular UK betting sites and those abroad have mainly focused on football but there has been far less conversation around how rugby may have a similar problem.

Pending government action

The Daily Mail revealed in September that the government is set to publish a white paper this winter outlawing betting companies appearing as shirt sponsors. Currently there are nine Premier League football clubs with these sponsorship deals in place, and it has been a large talking point across the sport. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) launched a review into the 2005 Gambling Act in December last year, and a spokesperson for the DCMS has said: “We are currently undertaking a comprehensive review of our gambling laws, including advertising and marketing, to make sure they are fit for the digital age. We are determined to tackle problem gambling in all its forms and the work will build upon our strong track record of introducing measures to protect those at risk. No decisions have been taken.”

The chair for the all parliamentary group for gambling-related harm (GRH APPG), Labour MP Carolyn Harris said: “Banning front-of-shirt ads is of course the right thing to do, but it just scratches the surface. We’re bombarded by gambling adverts and that has to stop. Adverts should be completely banned to protect children and prevent harm.”

Rugby suffers a similar problem to that of football, that gambling advertising is entrenched within the sport. While there aren’t nearly the same amount of front of shirt sponsorship deals we see in football, many clubs are partnered with gambling firms, and advertise in other ways. The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has spoken about sports other than football struggling to generate revenue, and these sponsorship deals are vital to keep clubs afloat, particularly in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The BGC chief executive Michael Dugher said in 2020: “Some sports are living on a knife-edge because of the ongoing ban on spectators, so the funding provided by our members is even more important than usual.”

What else can be done?

The ‘whistle to whistle’ ban on gambling advertising has proved to be extremely successful. The ban stated that no advertising for gambling companies can appear on any sport other than horse and greyhound racing from five minutes before the first whistle to five minutes after the final whistle. Research conducted by media researchers Enders Analysis found that since the whistle to whistle ban was implemented on 1 August 2019, there has been a 97% drop in the number of gambling ads seen by four to 17-year-olds during the whistle-to-whistle period.

Michael Dugher said: “The success of the whistle to whistle ban is a clear example of that commitment and I’m pleased at how effective it has been during its first year in operation. I am determined that the BGC will lead a race to the top in terms of industry standards and we want to drive more changes in the future.”

Campaigners have said that while the whistle to whistle ban and the impending shirt sponsorship legislation are positive steps, more needs to be done. Gambling companies still are able to advertise on pitch side hoardings, on websites and on social media, all of which children can access extremely easily.

Gambling’s link with rugby was put firmly into the spotlight in 2020, when former Wales caretaker coach and Warren Gatland’s number two Rob Howley was suspended for 18 months, nine of which suspended after a Welsh Rugby Union disciplinary investigation found that Howley had placed 363 bets, covering 1,163 matches, some of which including Wales on rugby over a four year period. This should have set alarm bells off for decision makers in Rugby across the British Isles and abroad that the sport had an issue with its relationship to the betting industry. Howley has returned from his ban and is now part of the coaching staff for the Canadian national team.

Howley’s story is not unique, and while stories like his are a bombshell to fans of the sport, it’s clear that the wider issue at play is regarding the sheer level of advertising and sponsorship the gambling industry has tied up in rugby. As former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton put it when he handed a 12,000 strong petition to 10 Downing Street calling for an end to gambling advertising in sport, “We get more and more letters about how much gambling keeps cropping up on TV or gamblers who’ve quit getting pop-up adverts. It needs to be regulated and this government needs to do something about it.”

Further legislation needs to be looked into as British sport and betting operators have a bond that seems hard to break in the current climate. All eyes will be on the DCMS review into the 2005 Gambling Act that is due to be released either before the end of the year or in early 2022 and whether it looks solely into football or takes a view of the wider British sporting culture, including rugby. This could be a make or break moment for rugby clubs across the nation, where they have to decide if it is with the incoming revenue to associate themselves with gambling companies, or if their social responsibility as representatives of their local community comes first.