Experts worry excessive gambling advertising is normalising an epidemic of addiction, as increasingly wild bet building sweeps through football culture. What does this tell us about attitudes towards Class and vice?

“I only need three more throw-ins, a corner and a yellow card to win five hundred quid”. 

Not so long ago a comment like that might’ve raised a few eyebrows, with friends questioning what shady backstreet bookie agreed to such a specific punt. But to a growing number of football fans, wildcard combination betting, known as bet building, has become a normal way to enjoy the game, and the latest example of how deeply gambling has become woven into football culture. 

Where once fans might’ve had a flutter on the pools or guessed the final score, today betting companies encourage complex wagers which combine multiple obscure events for bigger potential payouts. You might predict a specific number of throw-ins, shots on target and goal scorers, all in a single bet. 

The gambling companies promote bet building as a way to win large sums from a small outlay, the evolution of accumulators, which adds a new layer of excitement to a game. Many experts and politicians disagree. They see it as an exploitative tactic from an aggressive industry with too much influence in football, and they argue that excessive, uncontrolled gambling advertising is contributing to a national epidemic of addiction.

On the opening day of the 2023/4 season, researchers from the University of Bristol found that 92% of gambling adverts studied breached regulations. The Betting and Gaming Council, a body set up in an attempt at self-regulation, immediately hit back, arguing that all advertising complied with strict guidelines, including signposting to ‘safe gambling’ tools for those concerned about their habits. 

The researchers then studied TV, radio and social media on opening weekend the following season, and found the total number of gambling messages had tripled to nearly 30,000. 

The problem is wider than just football, with smartphones enabling instant 24/7 gambling without leaving the house. Despite the industry’s promise to regulate itself, the UK government estimates that gambling related harm costs society between £1bn – £1.7bn per year, constituting a public health issue. An estimated 1.3 million UK adults are experiencing gambling related addiction, more than double the number of dependent drinkers in England. 

Yet gambling addiction is often referred to as a “hidden illness”, partly because there are no obvious physical signs that a person may be struggling, but also due to the lack of media coverage it receives. 

What does this tell us about culture?

The most disadvantaged socio-economic groups experience the highest levels of harmful gambling, despite having the lowest gambling participation rates overall. 

This suggests a situation where those from more privileged backgrounds aren’t exposed to the true scale of the problem, potentially don’t know anybody harmed by it, and therefore have limited interest in using their position to influence public opinion. Coverage of gambling addiction in the media is scant outside of the medical industry, so social stigmas remain and the cycle continues.

This disconnect between the media and the Working Class is appearing across wider culture too. Despite making up almost half the UK population, only 8% of those working in the TV industry come from a Working Class background, and we know the important role TV and film play in breaking down cultural taboos and bringing hidden struggles to the surface. 

Thought starters for brands 

• Permissible addiction. Sometimes we get to write about Polo and pigeon-fancying, and sometimes we have to be serious. Today is the latter. The ‘hidden illness’ of sports gambling is growing rapidly, and while it remains a taboo subject outside of sports, inside it’s become a ritual that’s woven into the fabric of the very culture. So while you may not work at a betting or sports gambling company – or even be adjacent to sports as a culture – what we want to ask you to think about today is are there permissible addictions that are woven into the cultures where your brand operates? And if so, is your brand contributing positively to helping with those addictions, or inadvertently fuelling them? If it’s the latter, what could your brand introduce – product, service, or marketing campaign – that might create a new, less harmful ritual to replace a permissible addiction?

To unlock more insights, email discover@culturelab.co 

^{(Sources: CultureLab CultureIndex, January 2025)}