Pádraig Hoare: Gambling ads as relentless as they are ruthless

ESRI has found that problem gambling is more prevalent among young men, people in disadvantaged communities, and those with addiction issues and mental health problems

Brentford striker Ivan Toney has been diagnosed with a gambling addiction and showed genuine remorse for 232 breaches of betting rules between February 2017 and January 2021.

Gambling is really fun, a wholesome way to fill your time, and a harmless bit of japery — that's the impression you'd get turning on your television or podcast or YouTube these days, because the advertising is as relentless as it is quietly ruthless.

Is it any wonder that new research by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) suggests gambling addiction in this country has likely been vastly underestimated? 

It may be unreasonable to expect betting firms to voluntarily highlight the misery, self-loathing, lying, and cheating that problem gambling brings, to be fair. 

But by the same token, why do we allow the pictures of smiling faces, shiny screens, and fun sounds to pervade our screens every time there is an ad break on Sky Sports News, YouTube, The Athletic sports podcasts, and other forms of media, and pretend gambling is akin to a harmless hobby?

A friend described today how she was swamped by ads on YouTube when working and living in isolation at home during the peak of Covid-19 restrictions. 

So annoyed was she by the experience, she researched why — the algorithm decided she was the perfect target, being isolated and with time on her hands, the perfect combination to part with her money to stave off boredom.

An English international footballer has been banned for eight months from any involvement in football for breaching betting rules.

Ivan Toney has been diagnosed with a gambling addiction and showed genuine remorse for 232 breaches of betting rules between February 2017 and January 2021, otherwise England's Football Association (FA) would have imposed a 15-month ban starting from the beginning of next season, it said.

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A man with an admitted gambling addiction is now left to his own devices for the bones of three-quarters of a year, instead of being allowed to go to work. 

Not even allowed to train with his teammates, the 27-year-old Brentford forward will have to manage his unwelcome freedom and addiction at the one time.

Brentford, a brilliantly-run community-focused club in west London confounding the pundits in the past two years by not only surviving but thriving in the Premier League, is owned by Matthew Benham.

Before masterminding Brentford's meteoric rise from modest lower league club to Premier League establishment, Matthew Benham founded Smartodds, a statistical research company for professional gamblers, while he is the owner of Matchbook betting exchange.

Ivan Toney's abundance of goals are among the chief reasons why Brentford won promotion to the Premier League and stayed there for two years. Brentford's chief shirt sponsor is South African gambling firm Hollywoodbets.

Ivan Toney may be English, but gambling addiction knows no nationality or borders. 

The ESRI found that problem gambling is more prevalent among young men, people in disadvantaged communities, and those with addiction issues and mental health problems. 

Yet organisations like the FA are happy for their game to be inextricably linked to the very same industry that will cost Ivan Toney eight months of a short career. 

Ah here, it's only a bit of fun, isn't it?