West Ham’s coloring page featured a direct link to the gambling sponsor’s website in the top left
West Ham’s gambling sponsor Betway has been fined £400,000 by the Gambling Commission for advertising on the children’s section of the club’s website.
Last year, Found ` Sports The Hammers website had a direct betting link to a coloring page that featured a picture of a teddy bear.
West Ham were one of seven clubs with links to children’s betting sites in breach of regulators’ rules.
But the commission could not confirm whether any action would be taken against them.
Clubs included Premier League sides Arsenal, Tottenham, West Ham and Aston Villa, as well as QPR, Millwall and Reading from the Championship.
Betway were fined a total of £408,915 for also having the company’s link on West Ham’s Young Hammers at Home website.
Both ads violated the Commission’s rules that require gambling advertising to be socially responsible.
The club’s website has since been updated.
Leanne Oxley, Director of Enforcement for the Gambling Commission, said: “Protecting children from harm caused by gambling is at the heart of what we do.
“While there is no indication that the operator intentionally targeted children or that children were allowed to gamble, we take violations of child protection rules extremely seriously.
“We note the remedial actions taken by the licensee since then, but advise all operators to learn from this case and ensure they take responsibility and have the proper processes in place to ensure that websites targeted to children do not contain gambling advertising .”
James Grimes of campaign group The Big Step said: “This is one of the worst examples of gambling advertising in football and as such action is welcome but fines are not enough and are not a deterrent – this will not be the last time a gambling company advertises makes their products in front of children.
“By continuing to encourage gambling in football, clubs are risking the health and lives of their own young fans – the stakes really are too high. This is further evidence that the government must end all sponsorship of gambling in football and move on. “
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