Gambling review evidence ‘flawed’

Football’s evidence in the review of UK gambling should be ignored, says the Member of Parliament who chairs the parliamentary group for gambling reform.

The English Football League – sponsors of Sky Bet – had commissioned research suggesting that there is no evidence that sponsorship influences participation in betting, reports the BBC.

EFL clubs receive £40m annually from gambling companies and it also suggested that gambling participation in sport had been static at around nine per cent of the population between 2010 and 2018.

It also urges the government’s gambling review to take into account that in the same period problem gambling had halved from six per cent to three per cent.

However, MP Carolyn Harris points to another piece of research by another specialist company that suggests the EFL’s research is “flawed and misleading.”

Harris is chair of the All Party Group for Gambling Related Harm. She said that the gambling minister Chris Philp should ignore the EFL research in the review. A white paper on gambling review is due to be published in the next few weeks.