UK gambling sponsorship study handed £1.6m grant to shape future policy
Academics from three leading universities to explore historical impact on public health in relation to “addictive” industry marketing
A new study into gambling sponsorship in the UK has been handed a £1.6m budget which will “help shape future strategies” around the sector.
Researchers from the University of Nottingham, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the University of Glasgow will study the impact of sponsorship by “addictive industries” on public health over the past six decades.
The project, which is being funded by the Wellcome Trust, is in direct response to the government’s white paper into the Gambling Act 2005 review.
With the consultation period for the white paper now in full swing, advertising largely avoided being clamped down upon by the review.
Premier League clubs have already voluntarily agreed to phase out front-of-shirt sponsorship by gambling firms by the start of the 2026-27 season.
However, gambling firms will still be able to partner with clubs, with branding permitted to be visible on shirt sleeves and in-stadia.
Along with exploring gambling sponsorship, the study will also examine the role alcohol and tobacco marketing has played in Britain historically.
The study, ‘Kicking the Habit: Historicising ‘Addictive’ Sport Sponsorship in Britain, 1965-2025’, will analyse the three industries’ relationships with football, rugby, cricket, Formula One and tennis between the mid-1960s and 2025.
Dr Heather Wardle, professor of gambling research and policy at the University of Glasgow, said: “Given the near ubiquity of professional football and gambling partnerships, it’s often difficult to remember that it didn’t used to be this way.
“As the gambling industry extends their partnerships with other sports, it’s vital to explore the actions they took to establish this ‘new normal’.
“This project will examine how commercial power and decision making has influenced our sporting environments and what should be done about it,” she added.
The Wellcome Trust previously funded Wardle’s earlier gambling research in 2016 when she was a research fellow at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
The body covered Wardle’s salary and expenses as she undertook her research project ‘Technological change and the health and wellbeing of youth: a case study of gambling’.