The FIFA World Cup 2022, according to the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), has solidified the beliefs of anti-gamblers.
The BGC acknowledges that some individuals wager on sporting events, but it also notes that the World Cup has "sparked unfounded charges against those who bet and betting companies."
The piece, written by BGC Chairman Brigid Simmonds OBE, accuses anti-gambling advocates of having the support of uninformed commentators who cling to "extreme justifications" to support the harm that the World Cup will do to gambling.
Despite the fact that 22.5 million adults in the UK bet, played the lottery, or engaged in online gaming, according to Simmonds' analysis of data from an independent regulator's review of betting in the country, the prevalence of problem gambling has increased.
She continues by saying that despite the financial hardships brought on by the cost-of-living crisis and the fallout from the Covid-19 outbreak, the rates of compulsive gambling have been declining.
According to Simmonds and the BGC, the World Cup shouldn't have any issues with the marketing of gambling now that the Whistle to Whistle rule, which prohibits betting advertising during live football or before the watershed, has been implemented.
This, according to the BGC, cut the number of gambling advertisements that kids saw by 97%. It continues that this regulation also resulted in a 47% drop in betting advertisements during the Euro 2020 tournament compared to the World Cup in 2018.
According to Simmonds, over 20% of gambling advertising on TV and radio is now dedicated to safer gaming messaging. This is made possible by a new social media age restriction that limits gambling advertisements to users 25 and older for the majority of licensed sites present in the UK market.
