APPG demands urgent Gambling Act reform in wake of streaming fallout

UK politicians have slammed the media rights deal agreed between sports betting firms and the Football Association (FA) as “shameful”.

Speaking in a Parliamentary debate today, Gambling-Related Harm APPG chair Carolyn Harris said: “Everything about this deal is shameful.

“Everything about this deal needs to be dealt with. Everything about the Gambling Act needs reform and certainly, the Gambling Commission needs reform.”

Echoing these sentiments, fellow APPG member Ronnie Cowan MP called for government intervention on such deals.

During this morning's Urgent Question led by @carolynharris24 on the FA and Bet365, I highlighted its no longer about the love of the game. It's time for a new Gambling Act. The @HouseofCommons must legislate. pic.twitter.com/kEaXOidicr

— Ronnie Cowan (@ronniecowan) January 9, 2020

Cowan said: “You have to tell these people what to do. We have to legislate, we cannot count on them or their authority on this. The gambling industry has to be brought into line with a completely new Gambling Act.”

The comments come as MPs debated the deal agreed between bet365 and media rights firm IMG, first agreed in 2018. Nigel Adams, the Minister in charge of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, revealed the deal also included six other operators.

Adams claimed the government was “very angry” with the arrangement and confirmed the government has asked the FA to review all parts of the broadcast deal.

The names of the operators have not been disclosed, yet The Guardian alleges Betfair, William Hill, Coral, Ladbrokes, Unibet and Paddy Power have also streamed matches on their respective websites.

Brigid Simmonds, chairman of UK trade body the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), said: “Our members did not seek exclusivity for the rights to screen FA cup games.

“They are therefore happy for IMG to offer the rights to screen these games to the Football Association or another appropriate body so that the games can be viewed for free by the public with immediate effect.”

Her statement was supported by bet365, GVC, Flutter Entertainment, William Hill and Kindred Group.

The Betting & Gaming Council (BGC), the new UK trade body formed in late 2019, has chosen not to release a statement on the issue.

Former sports minister Tracey Crouch said the media deal was “distasteful, naïve and a long way from what good governance of the sport looks like”.

Crouch also attacked the FA for contradicting its own prior decisions to disassociate itself from betting companies following concerns about the relationship between the FA and the gambling industry.

The FA discontinued all sponsorships with betting companies from the end of the 2016-17 season, ending a multi-million-pound partnership with bookmaker Ladbrokes. Bet365 acquired the rights to screen these games from the start of the 2018-19 season.

The FA said it will conduct a review of its streaming arrangements from the start of the 2024-25 season, however many MPs are calling for this review to be brought forward.

Adding his voice to these calls, Adams said it was “absolutely right” that the FA act urgently.

“It’s fair to say they are more than embarrassed by this and we will make it very clear to them when we have face-to-face meetings on this next week what action we expect them to take.

“We have to be mindful that the right’s holders are able to conduct their commercial deals themselves, but they have to be responsible” Adams added.

Former Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Ian Duncan Smith attacked betting companies over their use of incentives in VIP programmes and called for FA funding to be withdrawn if the association did not act on this issue.