Gambling Brands Popped Up in Roughly One Third of PL Highlights

According to new research from the University of Nottingham, football highlight viewers are significantly exposed to gambling branding, which appeared during nearly one third of Premier League highlight footage analyzed. The Most Prominent Unhealthy Commodity The pre-print study looked at the frequency at which unhealthy commodity branding shows up in football YouTube highlights. Researchers analyzed Sky Sports highlights from the last 10 games of the 2025/26 Premier League season and FIFA YouTube highlights from 17 matches at the 2026 World Cup. Results showed that gambling was the most prominent unhealthy commodity category identified in the Premier League footage, with gambling brands visible for 32% of total Premier League highlight screen time, compared with less than 2% of World Cup highlights. Overall, unhealthy commodity branding, which includes gambling as well as products such as alcohol and foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS), appeared during 38% of Premier League highlight footage. The figure for World Cup highlights was 19%. The findings are important as highlights have turned into an increasingly popular way of watching football, especially when it comes to younger audiences. In the UK, 81% of children aged three to 17 regularly use YouTube, according to the research. Unlike traditional television advertising, branding embedded within match footage can remain visible while viewers watch goals, red cards and other memorable moments from games. The “Where” Factor The study also looked at where gambling branding appeared. Only around one quarter of gambling brand appearances in Premier League highlights were on the front of players’ shirts. That separation is important as the Premier League’s voluntary agreement to withdraw gambling sponsorship from the front of match shirts specifically addressed that type of branding, while other placements can be visible during match coverage. The researchers also encountered gambling advertising before highlights packages. In some cases, viewers were served up to 30 seconds of gambling advertising before approximately three minutes of match footage. Nathan Davies, the lead author of the study, explained that the potential scale of exposure was substantial as the new football season began. He argued that gambling branding appearing on screen for a third of the analyzed Premier League highlights means that most of this exposure is not addressed by the voluntary agreement concerning shirt-front sponsorship. The research also found considerable exposure to HFSS food and drink branding, particularly in World Cup footage. Such branding was present for approximately 13% of World Cup highlight screen time. The researchers noted that previous studies have connected exposure to unhealthy commodity advertising with increased consumption. Huge Exposure Research specifically examining gambling marketing has also linked exposure to sports-related gambling advertising with increased betting frequency, spending and unplanned expenditure. The study highlights the potential importance of football highlights as a source of commercial exposure. The Premier League says its content reaches 1.87 billion people through media each week, while the 2022 FIFA World Cup was estimated to have engaged around five billion people across media platforms. The University of Nottingham study is believed to be the first to compare exposure to unhealthy commodity branding in football YouTube highlights across the Premier League and World Cup.