Gambling Cash Could Bail Out Sport Bodies

Money from the lucrative gambling industry should be used to fund sport which can no longer rely on the government or national lottery, says a report in this month's Oxford Review on Economic Policy.

It suggests sports organisations should negotiate a levy with bookmakers. The report claims that the gambling industry has benefited from sport with millions of pounds being spent. But the relationship is somewhat one-way because sport receives little in return.

Sports economic specialists Rob Simons and David Forrest suggest that the problems facing many Premiership football clubs as a result of a projected decrease in television revenue could also be alleviated by money from the gambling industry.

According to the authors, football is the fastest growing form of gambling in Britain with around 4 million people betting on the sport each week, generating around £2bn for the industry.

"With broadcasting revenues likely to turn down, it is natural that football should consider prospects for gaining significant new income from wagering activity," they write. "In some regards, circumstances are favourable."

Mr Simons, a lecturer in the economics of sport at Lancaster University, claims that the gambling industry would be willing to redirect some profits because it relies heavily on sports betting.

He said: "Sport should be doing more to get some return from gambling. The way to do this is not legislation because there is always the risk that gamblers could go offshore because gambling is now a global business.

"There needs to be some kind of partnership between sport and gambling. Sports governing bodies need to reach a deal with bookmakers so that they receive money from them for their funding. The gambling industry needs sport but so far, sport has not really benefited from gambling and that situation needs to be addressed."

The report warns that sport can no longer rely on the national lottery. When the lottery first started in 1994, sport as one of the five good causes received around £350m a year. Following a decrease in the sale of lottery tickets, this figure is now down to around £160m a year.

And while funding from central government has increased, this is not enough to finance sport and ensure success at domestic and international level.

Mr Simons said: "There's a downturn in lottery funding and sport has to look at alternative ways of financing. Sport has to be a bit more innovative and it is time that the gambling industry coughed up."

The report warns that with deregulation of gambling expected later this year the gambling industry's profits will increase. Betting on the internet alone could be worth around £1.25bn.

The report claims that if sport wants to benefit from the gambling industry and with betting on sport expected to increase, extra precautions have to be put in place to prevent match fixing.