McGrane, E. orcid.org/0000-0003-4397-3462, Pryce, R. orcid.org/0000-0002-4853-0719, Wilson, L. orcid.org/0000-0001-5769-5729 et al. (2 more authors) (2024) How did the ‘whistle-to-whistle’ ban affect gambling advertising on TV? A live football matching study. Addiction Research & Theory. ISSN 1606-6359
Abstract
Background: In 2019, the gambling industry introduced a voluntary partial advertising ban during live sports broadcasts in the United Kingdom known as the ‘whistle-to-whistle’ ban. This study explores the change in television advertising around live football games following the introduction of this ban. Methods: Inverse Probability Weighted (IPW) matching models identified the change in the frequency of advertising associated with the implementation of restrictions in each section, and across the entire duration, of a live football game. Data on UK television schedules (Concise Media, TVSportsGuide) and gambling advertising (Nielsen Media) covered 3 months (1st September to 1st December) pre (2018), and post-ban (2019). There were 1049 live football games across the period studied: 468 in 2018 and 581 in 2019. Results: The implementation of the ban was associated with a reduction in advertising (2.3 advertisements per-programme (p < 0.001, CI [−2.75, −1.84])), driven predominantly by reductions during half-time (2.18 advertisements per-programme (p < 0.001, CI [−2.32, −2.04])). It was associated with an increase in advertisements (0.34 advertisements per-programme (p < 0.001, CI [0.09,0.59])) during the pre-match section. In the post-ban period, an average of 3 (SD: 3.5) advertisements per-programme remained. Conclusions: A voluntary partial gambling advertising ban in the UK was associated with reductions in television advertising during live football games during the restricted period. There is evidence of increased advertising in the unrestricted period due to the partial nature of the ban. Future research is needed to explore the impact of the ban on other types of advertising, and across other channels.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | Gambling; advertising; sport; football; policy; economics |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > School of Medicine and Population Health The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > School of Health and Related Research (Sheffield) > ScHARR - Sheffield Centre for Health and Related Research The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Psychology (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 31 Jan 2025 16:45 |
Last Modified: | 31 Jan 2025 16:45 |
Status: | Published online |
Publisher: | Informa UK Limited |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/16066359.2024.2355183 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:222469 |