Betting In Football: Worth the punt?

Football and betting go together like a fine Bordeaux and slice of Camembert, or perhaps a simpler pairing of burger and fries. Whatever your analogy, what is evident for all to see is that the sums of money generated through this partnership are huge, around £500bn  (According to Darren Small, director of integrity at betting and sports data analysts Sportradar). So with football being the most popular sport on the planet, apparently the sports' fans like to have a flutter or ten. This month BBC Sport published a news report on the UK's betting industry and the impact it is having on sport and those that follow it, this blog  follows up that report and will hopefully give all you readers a little more insight into the subject's past, present and possible future.

Is Betting in Football Anything New?

Betting on sports dates back thousands of years to the Greeks and Romans but the history of betting in football has a much shorter history. Some of the more key recent events are highlighted in this timeline below:

                                            adapted from: http://www.footballpools.com/cust 

Although betting in football has been around since its formation, the public realy engaged with the pastime with the intorduction of the football pools in 1923. Even more so as the Littlewood's Pools service improved its customer relations with a door to door service. With the spread of bookmaker shops throughout the 60's, the number of punters looking to place a bet on their favourite teams increased again as the shops were often strategically placed in the same social settings where football had its roots (notably around the stadiums and near to public houses). But it has not been until the past twenty years or so that the football betting industry has seen its biggest growth to date, seeing it become the single largest sector of the sports services market.

So What Has Caused the Recent Growth in the Past 20 Years?

Internet - Sky - Smart Phone Applications

The commercialisation of sport over the past twenty years has enabled the football betting industry to grow alongside it. With the introduction of internet  and mobile devices offering quick access to the latest odds and tips, punters have no longer had to seek out the bricks and mortar of their local betting shop but instead have been able to simply open their laptop or pull out their phone to place a bet. Satellite channels offering increased coverage of live games  has increased interest and opportunity for those punters out there looking to follow and wager on their teams. And lest we forget the new phenomenon on 'in-time' betting where the likes of BET365 utilise celebrities such as Ray Winstone to influence those fans with tips and suggestions as to where to place their hard earned cash. 

                                           http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDqsbzV5MQE 

Who Is Benefiting?

First and foremost as we can predict it is the betting companies who are the big winners here, but the football teams themselves stand to make a tidy profit by partnerships with these organisations, but why stop at one? Arsenal FC are leading the way with such business ventures by partnering with both British and Asian betting companies (PaddyPower and Bodog respectively), to increase their income streams as well as raising their brand profile.

  www.calvinayre.com

www.skybet.com 

Whether or not the sport itself is benefiting from betting industry growth is open to debate, but deals such as SkyBet's recent multi-year sponsorship of the football leagues, will surely be investing huge sums of money back into football. Although no figures have yet been published the football league title deal alone is predicted to be worth around £15m and should secure finances towards those clubs in the lower leagues.

So Is the Betting Industry Having a Positive Impact?

Not according to to the thousands of youths aged 18-35 who have contacted GamCare the gambling support group to seek support and help with gambling addiction, many of these young adults specifically pinpoint the rise of betting apps on smartphones as to being the contributing cause to their problems. The ease of access to these apps along with the constant bombardment of betting advertisements, all contribute to the 6.5% increase in addiction among Britain's youths since 2012 according to representatives from GamCare.

                                             http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSwgol42ijQ

   

www.telegraph.co.uk/sport

www.telegraph.co.uk/sport

But the betting industry isn't just causing gambling problems among Britain's youths, in fact there have been high profile cases involving footballers themselves getting caught up in problems with gambling addiction. The rehabilitation clinic, which works with the Professional Footballers' Association union, said 70% of its referrals related to gambling. Sporting Chance, the charity founded by former Arsenal and England defender Tony Adams to help with gambling addiction has urged for a crack down on the influences the betting industry has on football. The charity highlights the increased profile of the betting industry through sponsorship, advertising and now online and betting apps to be the main cause of many footballers running into thousands of pounds of debt and falling into addiction as they seek to recoup their losses.

Has Gambling Led to Corruption and Match Fixing in Football?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21333930

It is perhaps like asking which came first: the chicken or the egg? Like gambling, match fixing and cheating have been around since the ancient Olympics, in fact the statues surrounding the old stadiums were paid for by those athletes caught cheating. The modern day pressure of professional sport has been proven to put athletes under enough pressure to seek any advantages possible, but add to that the opportunity of huge financial rewards by individuals or teams simply 'laying' results and the likelihood of match fixing increases.  Europol officials say over 680 suspect games had been identified between 2008 and 2011 and while most of these games have taken place outside the UK there is a fear it is only a matter of time before match fixing becomes more widespread closer to home.

Final Thoughts.....

I guess how far this issue will run depends on how much influence these betting companies have on football clubs and the sport itself in the future. As long as the money keeps rolling in it is hard to imagine the clubs or the governing bodies kicking up too much of a fuss. But what about us, the common folk? Do we really want to see our beloved clubs playing at the 'Ladbrokes Stadium' or our children, spouses or parents becoming crippled with gambling debts? As a corporate sport, football is heavily reliant on its spectators and fans and perhaps until, in their opinion, a 'line is crossed' things will remain as they are.


Academic Overview

Sport gambling is now the single largest sector of the sports services market (Trenberth and Hassan 2012), in 2013 the worldwide sports betting industry is estimated to be worth around £500 billion (Keogh and Rose 2013). Cashmore and Cashmore (2010) suggest the interest in the sports gambling market is mainly due to the thrill added when watching an event which has a bet placed on it, and that the ‘competition’ element of sport itself lends itself to gambling. Miller (2012) highlights the underlying fact that gambling and betting on sport has been a vice long before football was invented, and that it in fact can be traced back to the Greeks and Romans. Since the founding of the football league in England in 1888 (Coakley 2009) gambling has had a foothold in football matches from its very beginning although it’s sphere and influence has grown in the past century (Houlihan 2008).

The commercialisation process that was beginning to envelope football in the early nineties (Slack 2004; Hughes and Coakley 2013) saw a sudden increase in the British football betting industry of around 30% (Houlihan 2008). Media and technology in particular, were two of the key drivers in the commercialisation of football in Britain (Ross 2010). With the introduction of Sky Sports in 1991 (Sky 2013) the ability of BSkyB to stream live football matches to millions increased both interest and opportunity for those out there looking to follow the action of their teams and in turn the likelihood of them placing bets on the fixtures (Hudson 2001).

The introduction of the internet gave the public access to online betting and they no longer had to physically travel to local betting shop to place a wager, this saw a huge rise in online gambling particularly in sports like football (Meyer and Villeneuve 2013). The bookmakers were quick to realise the capabilities and revenues the internet could generate and by 1999 both Victor Chandler and William Hill becoming the first online sites to offer duty-free betting (Houlihan 2008).

The increase in social media and more so the development of android phones and their ‘apps’ has seen the modern generation of gamblers emerge, those who want the latest odds available at the push of a button and the capacity to place a bet with one of their downloaded betting in a matter of seconds (Dobson and Goddard 2011). In addition to the introduction of the online sites and mobile apps, the provision of in play betting by many bookmakers has seen gambling in the UK rise to higher levels than ever (Forrest 2012).

Orford (2011) argues that the boom in the football betting industry has caused a sharp increase in gambling addiction in the UK , even more concerning than Britain’s rise in gambling addiction is the fact that most of these addicts are only aged between 18-25 (Williams, Wood and Park 2012). GamCare (2013) offers that the cause in sports gambling addiction among Britain’s young is the ease of access to all of the mainstream betting sites, along with the constant bombardment of betting advertisements through TV, internet and social media. However, the danger to society through this increase in gambling in Britain’s youth is very real; it is quite realistic to envisage higher numbers of unemployment and greater levels of debt as a direct result of this addiction (Williams, Wood and Park 2012).

The betting services industry and the individual brands have developed over the last 20 years through the level of association they have with football, through sponsorship and affiliation (Smith and Stewart 2010). For example, Arsenal football club has signed multi-million pound deals with British and foreign bookmakers, which will not only increase their revenues but also their brand awareness on a global scale (Davy 2013). Rumsby (2013) also reports how the football leagues themselves are now receiving huge income from the increase in influence the betting industry is having, for example the Football Championship has signed a deal selling its naming rights to SkyBet for £15 million from 2015-2018. Clubs selling naming rights or striking sponsorship deals may not always have a positive impact, a lot will depend on the fans and how they perceive ‘their club’ to be portrayed through such affiliations (Garland, Malcolm and Rowe 2013).  For example Conn (2012) sites after Newcastle United signed a sponsorship deal with payday lender ‘Wonga’ the club faced a backlash off angry fans not wanting their club to be associated with a company that takes advantage of societal money problems.

It could be argued that the rise of the football betting industry will trigger more people to interact with sport on a different level, and consequently see more people spectating and following the sport via the opportunity to make money on the outcomes (Houlihan 2008). Despite the interest generated by gambling on sport and in particular football, there are many authors who suggest that by betting on sport individuals are focusing on the outcome of their wager and taking away from the beauty of the competition itself (Coakley 2009; Houlihan 2008; Forrest 2012).

There are other detractions from what the betting industry brings as a package, Forrest and Simmons (2003) offer that since its growth in the sport, gambling has brought with it corruption and an increased likelihood of match fixing and cheating. McNamee (2013) identifies that match fixing has now become rife within football as the bookmakers can provide enormous sums of income if bets are rigged to favour one party. Most recent examples include reported findings from Europol officials who say over 680 suspected fixed games in Europe had been identified as taking place 2008-2011 (Hill 2013).

The football betting industry comes as a package; it is unlikely to see a scenario where the positive impacts such as increased revenues in the sport or new commercial opportunities can occur without the ethical issues that are created as a result (Houlihan 2008). As the gambling industry continues to grow it is the bookmakers, the clubs and the organisations who reap the rewards in the football industry (Hudson 2001). Forrest (2012) highlights that the commercialisation process that the betting industry is involved in may lead to the fans being the biggest losers, as they may see their favourite teams lose their identity through selling shirt sponsorship or stadium naming rights. The future outcome of the football betting industry will perhaps be decided on how much more control the bookmakers gain over the sport itself and ultimately at what point the fans think their influence has reached its limit (Abosag, Roper and Hind 2012).

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