Gambling Branding Prominent in Premier League YouTube Highlights

New research from the University of Nottingham indicates that gambling brands were visible in 32% of Premier League soccer highlight footage. This contrasts significantly with less than 2% visibility in FIFA World Cup highlights, raising concerns about audience exposure to gambling marketing.

What Happened

A study led by the University of Nottingham found that gambling brands were visible in 32% of Premier League soccer highlight footage, according to Phys.org. This research, reportedly the first to analyze and compare exposure to “unhealthy commodity branding” in soccer highlights on YouTube, examined Sky Sports highlights from the final 10 games of the 2025–26 Premier League season and FIFA YouTube highlights from 17 matches during the 2026 World Cup (University of Nottingham).

The researchers determined that “unhealthy commodity branding,” including gambling, appeared in 38% of Premier League highlight footage, compared with 19% of World Cup highlights. Gambling emerged as the most prominent “unhealthy commodity category” in Premier League highlights, with its brands visible for 32% of the total screen time. In contrast, gambling branding was present in less than 2% of World Cup highlight footage (Phys.org, Mirage News).

Key Details

• Gambling brands were visible for 32% of screen time in Premier League YouTube highlights, while appearing in under 2% of World Cup highlights (Phys.org).
• Only approximately one-quarter of gambling brand appearances in Premier League highlights were on the fronts of players’ jerseys, a placement targeted by the Premier League’s voluntary agreement to withdraw such sponsorship (University of Nottingham).
• Researchers observed up to 30 seconds of gambling advertisements before roughly three minutes of match footage (Phys.org).
• Previous studies have linked exposure to sports-related gambling advertising with increased betting frequency, expenditure, and unplanned spending (Mirage News).

Why It Matters

The findings indicate a substantial scale of potential exposure to gambling marketing for soccer audiences, extending beyond traditional advertising breaks to encompass match footage itself (Phys.org). This is particularly relevant as YouTube highlights are an increasingly popular method for consuming soccer content, especially among younger demographics. In the UK, 81% of individuals aged 3–17 regularly use YouTube (University of Nottingham).

Highlight reels concentrate memorable moments like goals and red cards, making them a significant source of exposure to embedded branding (Mirage News). Nathan Davies, lead author from the School of Medicine at the University of Nottingham, stated that gambling branding was on screen for a third of the analyzed highlights, with the majority of this exposure untouched by the Premier League’s voluntary agreement concerning jersey sponsorships (Phys.org).

What’s Next

The study’s findings are released as a new Premier League season commences, providing timely context regarding the prevalence of gambling branding in online football content (Phys.org).

Originally reported by Phys.org·Published 26 Aug 2026, 16:40