The frequency and content of gambling advertising during the UEFA Euro 2024 Men’s football tournament: A comparison with previous tournaments

Previous research has documented the frequency of gambling adverts during international football tournaments, but it is important to understand how these trends might continue to evolve. We therefore aimed to analyze the frequency and content of TV gambling adverts shown in the UK during the 2024 Men’s UEFA European Football Championship (Euro 2024), and to compare these findings with two previous major men’s tournaments: the 2021 Men’s European Football Championship (Euro 2021) and the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup (MWC 2022). Twenty-five broadcast matches were recorded, and all commercial-break gambling advertising coded. Coded variables included the gambling operator, advertisement type, advertised product, celebrity endorsement presence, and safer gambling message inclusion. We observed 122 gambling adverts (average 4.9 per-broadcast) from 8 operators. These comprised 79 financial inducements, 37 brand awareness, and 6 ‘safer gambling’ adverts. Sports betting was the predominant gambling product advertised (88.8%), and celebrity endorsements appeared across all advertisement types. Most adverts (74.6%) appeared before the matches began. Comparative analyses showed no significant differences in gambling advertisement frequency per-match between UEFA 2024 and the two previous men’s tournaments (UEFA 2021, MWC 2022). Unlike these two previous men’s tournaments, no odds adverts were observed in this tournament. Although the overall frequency of gambling advertising might have been similar to previous men’s football tournaments, differences in content were observed, revealing the need to continue monitoring gambling advertising for both its frequency and content.