SIGNIFICANT concerns for gamblers have been revealed following University of Warwick research into TV betting adverts during this summer’s coverage of the World Cup in Russia.
The university’s applied psychology department says there is a risk excessive live-odds adverts is breaching new rules set by the government’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
Dr Phillip Newall even said the findings could be ‘a good reason’ to ban live-odds adverts altogether.
The study calls on advertisers and ASA to urgently work together on the issue of adverts with time limitations as the new Premier League season begins.
Researchers argue many of the adverts breach guidance which came into force in April, limiting betting which exploits ‘impulsiveness and urgency’.
Researchers tracked the frequency and content of live-odds adverts shown over all 32 matches televised by one broadcaster.
They found 63 live-odds adverts were shown by five different betting companies.
For England versus Colombia – a match watched by 23.8million people – a bet for ‘England to score in the first 20 minutes, 4-to-1’ was considered to be encouraging ill-considered gambling due to the time-frame.
It was also concerned punters misjudge deliberately specific bets with a high number of probabilities.
An example of this, researchers say, is this bet ahead of England versus Tunisia: “England to win by three or more goals, Harry Kane to score, and over 11 corners, 16-to-1.”
Academics said this bet only pays off in very specific circumstances.
But because each part of the bet feels likely to happen, people can overestimate the bet’s chances of coming in.
Dr Newall said: “Technology and legislation have transformed the UK’s gambling scene. Football betting used to be relatively low frequency, with bets being made in person or via telephone, and most matches held on Saturday afternoons.
“Bets can now be placed either online or on a mobile, and on around the clock international matches.
“In addition, with “in-play” gambling, bets can be placed throughout a sporting event, as odds update in real time.
“Our research suggests that ASA’s recent guidance on ‘impulsiveness and urgency’ may not be enough to protect consumers from the psychological pressure to place bets which may be more complex than the punter first thought.”
The research report entitled “Impulsiveness and urgency: Gambling advertising and the 2018 soccer World Cup” was written by Dr Philip Newall, Mr Ankush Thobhani, Dr Lukasz Walasek and Professor Caroline Meyer at the University of Warwick.
