Telegraph
The Government has praised the gambling industry for finally "stepping up", amid concerns over TV advertising, after firms struck a deal to ban betting promotions during live sports broadcasts.
A "whistle-to-whistle" TV advertising ban has been agreed in principle by the Remote Gambling Association, which includes Bet365, Ladbrokes and Paddy Power.
The move follows political pressure about the increased profile of betting in sport, with more than 90 minutes of adverts shown during the football World Cup last summer.
Jeremy Wright, secretary of state for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, told Telegraph Sport: "Gambling firms banning advertising on TV during live sport is a welcome move and I am pleased that the sector is stepping up and responding to public concerns. It is vital children and vulnerable people are protected from the threat of gambling-related harm. Companies must be socially responsible."
The booming football gambling industry is worth £1.4 billion to the industry in the UK. The Gambling Commission says bookmakers made £333.4 million in profits from bets placed on the sport in Britain between October 2015 and September 2016.
The new broadcasting agreement is said to ensure no adverts will be broadcast for a defined period before and after a game is broadcast, and will include any game that starts prior to the 9pm watershed.
Anti-gambling campaigners say sport's use of adverts "normalises" betting and the RGA has previously said it was "very mindful of public concerns".
It has been claimed that "whistle-to-whistle" advertising contributes to the rise in the amount of problem gamblers - with a Gambling Commission report suggesting 430,000 Britons can be described as such - and helps fuel under-age gambling.
According to the BBC, horse racing will be exempt from the restrictions because of the commercial importance of gambling on its viability, but all other sports will be included.
The impact of the ban will be mostly felt in football given the financial value of the sport to both the gambling companies and broadcasters.
Nearly 60 per cent of clubs in England's top two divisions have gambling companies as shirt sponsors.
It is expected that a final ratification of the TV ban is needed from the Industry Group for Responsible Gambling before it comes into force. But it has been reported that this is a formality and will come into place as early as this month or at the start of 2019.
The gambling industry has been facing mounting pressure amid concerns around its increasing presence in sport. Nine of the 20 Premier League teams and 17 of 24 Championship teams have shirt sponsorships with gambling companies.
In October, gambling bosses reacted angrily to Football Association proposals to demand potentially tens of millions of pounds from the betting industry to support the grass-roots game.
Martin Glenn, the FA chef executive, has previously suggested a so-called "fair return" funding package from the industry because "all those betting companies use our intellectual property".
Some of gambling’s biggest operators have set up online operations based in Gibraltar, including Ladbrokes and William Hill. The UK’s current 15 per cent point-of-consumption tax was implemented in December of 2014 as a way of stopping off-shore companies from avoiding paying tax in the UK.
