UK Law and Practice Contributed by: Jamie Singer and Flora Peel, Onside Law
on their own sport, usually on a very broad level, and participants will be subject to sanction in the event of betting breaches. Gambling Act The Gambling Act 2005 requires information sharing between sports governing bodies and betting operators and other stakeholders in the gambling industry. In addition, specific infor - mation-sharing arrangements are often put in place to allow governing bodies to be aware of, and respond swiftly to, any concerning betting. The UK government has announced, and is still undertaking, a formal review of the Gambling Act 2005. The Gambling White Paper, published in 2023, set out the previous government’s plans for reforming gambling regulations. In January 2024, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Gambling Commission (GC) commissioned the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) to undertake the eval - uation study for the Gambling Act. This update is expected soon. Sanctions Despite the long-standing regulation, partici - pants are still regularly sanctioned for betting- related offences – for example, in December 2020, footballer Kieran Trippier received a ten- week playing ban and a GBP70,000 fine for passing on confidential information regarding a potential transfer. Ivan Toney was charged with 262 breaches of the FA Betting Rules between 25 February 2017 and 23 January 2021. Of these, 30 breaches were later withdrawn and he admitted to the remainder, resulting in the player receiving an eight-month ban from playing pro - fessional first-team football. In July 2023, Har - ry Toffolo, a Nottingham Forest defender, was charged by the FA for breaching betting rules on 375 occasions. He was handed a five-month ban and just shy of a GBP21,000 fine. Similarly,
in May 2024, Lucas Paqueta was charged by the FA for allegedly getting booked deliberately “for the improper purpose of affecting the bet - ting market” . At the time of publication, this case has not been resolved. Sponsors There is increasing scrutiny as to the appropri - ateness of betting operators sponsoring profes - sional clubs or events – currently an important stream of revenue for sports in the UK (see 2. Commercial Rights ). Concerns have been raised, particularly in rela - tion to public health, about the potential for such sponsorships to promote gambling behaviours, link recreational activities to betting, and create the impression that gambling is socially accept - able and without risk. Further concerns focus on the impact of betting operators on younger, more vulnerable audiences. Critics argue that since many sports attract large viewerships from younger demographics, such exposure may encourage gambling habits. Above all, governments and regulatory bodies are becoming increasingly vigilant about betting behaviours, particularly in the UK. There have been calls for reform to the Gambling Act 2005 which would see stricter regulation on the adver - tisement of gambling in certain settings. 1.4 Disciplinary Proceedings Sporting Regulation Sports governing bodies in the UK provide for disciplinary proceedings as part of their regula - tions where an athlete is alleged to have com - mitted anti-doping, betting or other integrity offences as well as on-field offences. The athlete provides their contractual agree - ment to any relevant regulations as a condition
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