At the beginning of the year it was revealed that, according to company accounts, Denise Coates, Britain’s highest paid boss, received more than £200 million in salary in the year to March 2022. And, despite a drop in profits, she was entitled to at least £50m in dividends. In 2020 Coates received a staggering salary of £421 million, the highest-ever recorded pay check in the country, averaging around £1.2 million a day.

Denise Coates is, together with her brother John, the co-CEO of one of the world’s leading online gambling operators, bet365.

I highlight this because gambling is in the news again. The Independent reported this week that in these most desperate of financial times, almost 1.5 million people admitted this year that they had turned to gambling as a “quick fix” solution to their financial problems. Indeed. A review published by the government in January into gambling related problems estimated that 0.5% of the adult population has a problem with gambling, 3.8% are gambling at at-risk levels, and 7% are affected negatively by an others people’s gambling.

Individual stories are equally as newsworthy and affecting. The afore mentioned Bet365 is currently embroiled in a High Court case in which it is accused of failing in its responsibilities to protect its customers. It is alleged that a customer, Vayuputra Anirudh Thotapalli, was able to lose nearly £300,000 between February 3, 2015, and March 10, 2016 after putting more than £800,000 in his account. It is also alleged that he was able to place more than 30 bets per day on 33 separate occasions.

Problem gambling is something I’ve written about before and in 2017 the first NHS betting clinic for children was opened in the UK. And, as the Guardian reported then, there were 55,000 children classed as having a gambling problem in Britain. The Gambling Commission, also found that 450,000 children were gambling habitually – more than those who had taken drugs, drunk alcohol or smoked.

Things have gotten worse. In February 2022 two more NHS clinics for gambling opened in Southampton and Stoke on Trent, meaning there are now seven in the UK. The problems mount: between April and December last year, 668 people with the most severe gambling addiction issues were referred to NHS gambling clinics – up from 575 during the same period in 2020 – a 16.2% increase. This may only be the tip of the iceberg.

NHS mental health director Claire Murdoch said: “Gambling addiction is a cruel mental health condition that can devastate people’s lives – our pilot clinics are already having a lasting impact in helping people to take back vital control of their lives.”

And people from all over the country are fighting to “take back vital control of their lives.”

In October, more than 30 people who have been affected in some severe way by problem gambling, marched from Sheffield to Leeds to raise awareness. The participants, who were walking in the name of Kimberly Wadsworth, 32, who died in 2018 after her addiction to fixed-odd betting terminals (FOBTs) and online casino games, took in the football grounds of Sheffield United and Leeds (amongst others) in a bid to urge clubs to reject gambling sponsorship and to join the campaign to reform gambling laws.

The links between sport and gambling, though perhaps obvious, are nonetheless seemingly inextricable. As the Guardian’s Barney Ronay writes, “football has led the charge on the total intrusion of gambling into every aspect of our daily cultural lives”. But are we at tipping point? Has not even the most casual of football fans become heartily sick of the ubiquity of betting advertising and sponsorship? Consider that eight of the teams in the Premiership have gambling companies emblazoned on their first team shirts (there are none in Spain, France or Germany) and that in 2020 44 of the top teams in English football, 26 had a gambling company logo on their chest. This is without the adornments to billboards, the changing of stadium names or the gravel voiced, cockernee exhortations of actor Ray Winstone telling us to “gamble responsibly”.

The gambling companies of the world are drawn to the Premier League for two major reasons. The first is because of the global exposure that association with the world’s most popular league brings. Secondly, as Rupert Pratt, director at the sponsorship consultancy Mongoose Sports and Entertainment, says: “if you want to create overnight brand awareness in multiple countries, there is nothing more simple and effective than putting your logo on a football shirt. There’s no need for creativity, no need for copywriting. It’s the most cost-effective billboard you can buy.”

The top brands – Bet365 and Paddy Power (owned by Flutter Entertainment, part of the world’s largest online betting company) – have attempted to forge a relationship with established and potential customers through relentless advertising which has aimed to demonstrate their understanding of football and identification with fans. Paddy Power campaigns rely broadly on humour to get their message across – hoping to create an affinity with fan culture and all its idiosyncrasies.

Whilst evidently gambling is on the increase in the UK and its presence in the world of sport appears to be cemented, audiences are beginning to show their dissatisfaction. It was reported in a survey on May 5 that 90% of fans wanted “tougher action” on betting advertising in football. Tim Cairns, a policy expert at charity Care told the Independent that “polling shows that the government’s permissive stance on gambling advertising isn’t shared by the public”.

But according to the Office of Budget Responsibility betting and gaming duties will raise £3.5 billion in 2023/24. SafeBettingSites.com states the United Kingdom is the world’s largest regulated online gambling market with total gross revenue of $12.5billion.

The digital transformation has altered the landscape – no longer is gambling the kingdom of little old men sitting in smoke-filled betting shops. Anyone can have access, anytime and anywhere. And this should worry us.

* Dr Jewell is director of Undergraduate Studies at Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, Media and Culture.