Ivan Toney gambling affair a warning to football
Ivan Toney pulls on his Brentford shirt as he prepares to lead the line in the Premier League against high-flying Fulham. Hollywood Bets is proudly displayed in capital letters on the front of the kit.
In the tunnel, he stands across from his opposite striker Aleksandar Mitrović. He looks the dangerous frontman up and down. Gambling sponsor, W88, stares back at him from the attacker’s chest.
As he walks out to a packed Gtech Community Stadium, he is met by a roaring crowd. Soaking in the atmosphere, he glances around the arena. Beaming billboards coated by a variety of different betting websites help light up the pitch.
This is football in 2023. Gambling advertising is endemic.
Toney has accepted breaking Football Association betting rules after being charged with over 250 breaches. The FA prohibits players from gambling on games or sharing information in relation to sports betting. He faces the prospect of a lengthy ban. In 2017, Joey Barton was suspended for 18 months (reduced to 13 after appeal) after he was found guilty of almost 1,300 gambling breaches.
Toney’s offences spanned from a period of 2017-2021, beginning when he was just 21. In 2017, the striker was playing for Wigan in the EFL League One. The same EFL who since 2013 have had Sky Bet as their title sponsor.
Since a young age, Toney has seen gambling sponsorship all around him. It is not surprising that an industry that prays on addiction managed to reel in a teenage superstar earning large sums of money. In fact, the only shock is that it has not happened more often.
It is now a regular occurrence that players under the age of 18 take to the pitch wearing shirts that promote gambling. How long will it be before the next young mind is sucked into the world of betting? A world that they are already completely surrounded by.
The problem is not only limited to the pitch. As Sky’s coverage of the game begins, Bet365 adverts are plastered over viewers’ TV screens before a ball is even kicked. As the chief sponsor of the game, their adverts continue to appear throughout the entire coverage.
A 3-1 victory for Brentford is promoted by Ray Winstone and Bet365 at 18/1 odds less than five minutes before kick-off. A final attempt to entice a last minute wager.
The hypocrisy of the FA is palpable. Punishing Toney for gambling, whilst at the same time allowing anyone involved in football to be constantly smacked in the face with betting advertisements. Yes, to keep the integrity of the sport intact, the Brentford striker must be reprimanded, but any integrity has long been compromised when the likes of José Mourinho are appearing in advertisements for Paddy Power.
Football and gambling have become so entwined with each other, it is impossible for a fan to watch their side without feeling the pull of the sports betting world trying to wind them in.
Sky Sports’ website advertises Sky Bet’s super six feature. The Sun’s sport section has pop up ads for Virgin’s betting service. Sports gambling isn’t just an issue within the game, the media must re-evaluate how they promote it on their own platforms.
There have been consistent cries for more regulation relating to gambling advertising in sport. A review into the matter was launched over two years ago, but thus far, actual change is yet to come.
The Big Step is a campaign group aiming to kick gambling ads out of football. Over 150,000 people have signed their petition to see an end to all betting sponsorship in the sport. The group have also gained the support of 30 football clubs, Championship side Luton Town the biggest of the bunch.
https://twitter.com/the_bigstep/status/1630828049259216900
Forest Green Rovers are another club supporting The Big Step. Owner of the club, Dale Vince, highlighted the issue of gambling advertisements during football games becoming the norm. He said “Gambling companies are exploiting football and football fans, making huge profits at the expense of people’s lives. Their overwhelming presence in our national sport is hyper-normalising an addictive harmful product, with only self-regulation to protect the millions of young fans exposed.”
Brentford boss Thomas Frank also expressed his concerns about the role gambling plays in sport. “I think it’s an issue that football and betting are so closely linked. Also in other sporting industries. I think it’s not right, from my perspective” he said. Even as the Dane spoke of his worries, however, Hollywood Bets advertising was smeared all over the wall behind him.
Gambling’s grip on football continues to grow. Regulation is needed now, or football runs the risk of the Toney situation repeating itself again.