Premier League return

EXCITEMENT VS CRITICISM AS THE PREMIER LEAGUE RETURNS

Gambling Insider spoke with several operators ahead of the English Premier League’s restart, and looks into media criticism that arrived with the return of major sports

In June, gambling operators were able to breathe a sigh of relief as the English Premier League finally returned from its three-month COVID-19 hiatus.

After a long sport-less summer in which operators were struggling to mitigate the impact of revenue declines, the return of one of the most popular betting leagues in the world would have been music to the ears of CEOs across the industry.

The anticipation ahead of the competition’s return was understandably palpable, and in their eagerness to wager on England’s top flight, fans had been giving plenty of extra attention to the prices of away teams, according to Betway.

The operator told Gambling Insider that German Bundesliga results – with home advantage lessening due to the absence of crowds – swayed punters ahead of the Premier League’s long-awaited comeback.

After the suspension was enforced in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, football restarted across Europe’s premier competitions without supporters in stadiums.

A Betway spokesperson told Gambling Insider: “Like all football fans we’re delighted to see the return of the Premier League. Punters have whetted their appetite on the Bundesliga and other leagues which returned in the last few weeks, but I’d expect the vast majority of our Betway customers were

waiting for more recognisable teams and more accessible live matches.

“We hope the action lives up to the billing. There had been extra attention on the prices for away teams to win matches after the home win percentage stats in Germany’s topflight nosedived, but overall it’s a fair spread of business as we await kick off.”

Operator Interwetten also welcomed the Premier League’s return, with the competition its “most important league” alongside the Bundesliga.

Meanwhile, Alistair Gill, racing strategy analyst at Kindred Group, told Gambling Insider this league is the “big one”, despite German and Spanish leagues also returning prior to the Premier League.

“We’ve been waiting for this day eagerly since the first Premier League match was cancelled back in March - the safe return of Premier League football!” he said.

“Although we’ve slowly been seeing the return in recent week of other major European leagues, this is, for us in the UK, the Big One, and given the interest we’ve seen from players on the Bundesliga and La Liga, we have big expectations for the rest of the season.”

“A bonanza of televised and free-to-air Premier League matches over the next six weeks is a huge boost for both Kindred and our players.”

Despite the clear excitement generated by the return of the Premier League, it also instigated the usual negative media attention.

The Mirror described fear of “a gambling frenzy” ahead of the Premier League’s return. The article quoted the words of UK sports minister Nigel Huddleston, who urged a focus on responsible gambling as sport returns to the screens of fans across the world.

Huddleston’s message is one most operators can agree with. UK operators demonstrated their commitment to spreading a responsible gambling message in replacing all gambling advertisements with safer gambling information during the pandemic – something The Mirror failed to include in its article.

According to the Guardian, Claire Murdoch, mental health director of NHS England, warned that operators may take advantage of the return of sport with “aggressive advertising campaigns”.

She said: “The return of football will be a moment of excitement for millions but it must not be an excuse for gambling firms to open the floodgates of addiction.

“With my colleagues having spent this year focused on protecting people from a once-in-a-generation global pandemic, the last thing NHS staff and patients need is for avoidable harm to be caused by reckless advertising from the gambling industry.”

Alistair Gill

While Murdoch’s desire to avoid any increase in problem gambling is certainly understandable, her words of warning are perhaps a little unnecessary.

The UK industry came under fire from a number of sources throughout 2019, but in reality, operators seem to have come on leaps and bounds from the industry of a few years ago.

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) is performing well as one united voice for the industry, both holding its members to account and fighting its corner when it’s necessary to do so. The body’s active response to problem gambling fears during the COVID-19 crisis is evidence of this.

It’s also evident that calls for stricter gambling regulation are increasing in the UK. This is exemplified in the Gambling Related Harm All Party Parliamentary Group’s recent report calling for a ban on gambling advertising, a £2 ($2.53) stake limit for online slots and a ban on all VIP schemes, among other recommendations.

With this in mind, a review of the outdated Gambling Act 2005 seems imminent, and operators should be eager to avoid giving industry critics any more ammunition to use against them. Taking advantage of the return of sport to squeeze money out of problem gamblers will certainly not work towards this aim.

Something that is apparent from the negative media attention generated by the return of sport is that the industry’s opposition will use every opportunity to

stoke fear about gambling’s potential harm that, for the most part, doesn’t come to fruition.

This was exemplified in fears over the risk of the COVID-19 lockdowns on gambling behaviour. At the beginning of the pandemic, negative coverage was also rife as the media warned of the potential dangers of lockdown.

Despite this, and throughout the crisis, the UK industry demonstrated its commitment to safer gambling by acting responsibly and not attempting to capitalise on the situation. The BGC published 10 pledges to ensure the safety of customers during the pandemic, with all of its members committing to the safer gambling measures.

In fact, in addition to pledging to protect their customers throughout the crisis, bookmakers even demonstrated their generosity in donating over £2.6m from the Virtual Grand National to NHS charities.

Of course, problem gambling is an issue in the UK and something that should rightfully be addressed by the industry. But after attending multiple industry events and speaking to executives across the board, it does seem that operators are dedicated to this cause – more dedicated than they are perhaps given credit for.

The UK industry has not always been completely perfect and for that reason it has been rightly criticised in the past, but a little recognition of the progress it had made would go a long way.