Premier League clubs may profit from a new whistle-to-whistle ban on in-game betting ads, according to the commercial director of one top-flight English club.
The proposed ban, announced yesterday, is a voluntary measure driven by the Remote Gambling Association, which represents online betting firms including William Hill, Paddy Power and Ladbrokes.
One unnamed source quoted by Mail Online said the ban could make Premier League sponsorship assets more valuable.
“Clubs will look at today’s developments and possibly see a chance to make more money,” they said. “Because if bookmakers can no longer advertise on television, that potentially makes our advertising media at matches more valuable. Could clubs now charge more for the LED perimeter screens and other forms of gambling advertising at the game?”
Another unnamed betting industry expert said the ban will have little impact on betting firms’ ability to advertise.
“Bookmakers spend five to six times more on digital advertising than they do on television advertising, so I suspect the net impact of this will be no change,” the source said. “And if they can’t dedicate a proportion of their advertising spend to television during matches, you can be sure they will spend it elsewhere. If that means paying more to the clubs, so be it. It’s just a different way of skinning a cat.”
Research by the Guardian shows British World Cup viewers were exposed to almost one and half hours of betting ads during the tournament.
Click here to read our full interactive data report on betting sponsors in sport: ‘Betting sponsorship in sport, 2018’.