BBC children’s football magazine features gambling company logo on all other pages, study finds

BBC children’s football magazine features gambling company logo on all other pages, study finds


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According to a study by Goldsmiths, University of London, the BBC’s Match of the Day children’s football magazine features the logo of a gambling company on every other page.

Researchers spotted 52 logos in the May 2019 issue of the 68-page magazine, as well as 38 images in January of this year and 37 in March 2019.

Gambling companies are prohibited from marketing directly to young fans, but professors have found sponsors are still “very visible” as logos on players’ shirts appear in photos.

The study, titled “The Visibility of Game Sponsorship in Football-Related Products Marketed Directly to Children,” also looked at four other magazines, namely Kick !, Kick Extra !, Footy and Match.

The BBC’s Match of the Day children’s football magazine, above, features the logo of a gambling company on all other pages, according to a study by researchers at Goldsmiths, University of London.

The report published in the journal Soccer & Society noted that the logos of 20 different gambling companies were found in children’s magazines in 2019, with half of the Premier League teams wearing jerseys with the logos during the 2019-2020 season.

Cut! The issue of Extra in January this year topped the magazine with the most logos at 59, in part thanks to the inclusion of a poster showing five football teams.

Logos were also found on 42% of Panini Official Premier League 2020 stickers and 41% of Topps Merlin Official Premiership stickers sold in 2018.

Lead author of the study, Dr Natalie Djohari, University of East Anglia, said: “The Advertising Standards Agency guidelines say it is the responsibility of marketers to ensure that children are not exposed to gambling advertising.

“But a football player with a logo, even when it is intended to sell products to adult consumers, has his photo refracted many times on football cards, stickers, magazines and other merchandise.

“In this way, gambling logos very quickly become visible in the football-related worlds of children’s fans. “

Dr Gavin Weston, lecturer in Goldsmiths Department of Anthropology, added: “Children may not have the experience or critical faculties to understand the meaning of a gambling company logo or to be wary. the attractiveness of products that have addictive qualities.

“But the latest figures from the Gambling Commission show that 55,000 children have a gambling problem.

The report published in the journal Soccer & Society noted that the logos of 20 different gambling companies were found in children's magazines in 2019 (Photo: BBC match of the day)

The report published in the journal Soccer & Society noted that the logos of 20 different gambling companies were found in children’s magazines in 2019 (Photo: BBC match of the day)

“While more research is needed to understand how young fans interpret the gaming brand on their heroes’ shirts, more immediately policymakers and magazine editors need to examine how the visibility of gaming logos can be reduced in products marketed to children. “

A spokesperson for the BBC’s Match of the Day magazine told MailOnline: “Like other football magazines, MOTD magazine features images of football teams and players as they are widely disseminated across the board. other media.

“We do not in any way endorse gambling or betting companies.”

He follows former England Under-21 striker and striker Marvin Sordell warning young footballers are getting addicted to the game and saying clubs need to do more to protect them.

Sordell, who rocked the football world when he announced his retirement from the game at just 28 as he struggled with his own mental well-being, has claimed the next generation of players are being abandoned.

The former striker, who has scored 68 career goals in 321 appearances, believes the game has taken over as one of the biggest issues affecting player well-being.

He spoke when he was unveiled as an ambassador for the national charity Young Gamers & Gamblers Education Trust (YGAM).

Gambling companies are prohibited from marketing directly to young fans, but professors have found sponsors are still

Gambling companies are prohibited from marketing directly to young fans, but professors have found sponsors are still “very visible” as logos on players’ shirts appear in photos

Sordell said: “Football players have a tremendous amount of free time, but they are only allowed to spend it in specific ways. There is so much you can do indoors at home and the game in fact. integral part.

“The game is very much embedded in football culture like a lot of other things. I have played with players who were on their phones to check scores and bets from the minute they come in in the morning until the minute. where they leave training.

“I think that has probably changed with the younger generations, is that a lot of it is now oriented towards the game.

“If you take FIFA, you get really addicted to things like Ultimate Team and buying add-ons. I was a person at this young age who got into the habit of playing just to open those packs (loot boxes) because of the dopamine shot you get from getting one of the great players – or something another exciting.

“You just want to replicate that and before you know it you’re spending a lot of money on what is essentially gambling. It’s definitely something that needs to be looked at and addressed.

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Amanda P. Whitten

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