Fans First, Betting Second: A Social Semiotic Analysis of How UK Sports Betting Advertisements Construct the “Real Fan” Gambler
Session Title
Marketing: Media Representation & Consumer Perception
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation
Start Date
27-5-2026 12:00 AM
Abstract
The relationship between sports and gambling is increasingly symbiotic, with each industry sustaining and profiting from the other. Gambling operators rely on loyal sports fans, while professional sports leagues benefit financially from betting partnerships and sponsorships. Sport is no longer a spectator activity enjoyed from the sidelines; rather, it is packaged and marketed as a betting product. Indeed, wagering has become a core expression of engagement (Hing et al., 2023). Football, as the epicentre of this commercial alignment, provides a salient site for analysing gambling advertising. Employing a social semiotic framework drawn from visual semiotics (Kress & van Leeuwen, 2006; Ledin & Machin, 2022), this paper examines how football betting advertisements utilise semiotic resources to communicate specific discourses. By analysing the complexities of semiotic choices, I uncover how gambling is legitimised. As van Leeuwen (2018, p.18) observes: “in studying legitimation, attention must be paid… to multimodality”. The discursive themes that I identify as running across the adverts – (1) the selling of nostalgia and authenticity, (2) the framing of fanhood, and (3) the performance of togetherness – encompass a myriad of subtle yet insidious multi-semiotic techniques. These techniques manipulate discourse and emotions to obscure the harsh reality of potential monetary loss, instead recontextualising betting as a rightful reward to which loyal supporters are entitled.
Fans First, Betting Second: A Social Semiotic Analysis of How UK Sports Betting Advertisements Construct the “Real Fan” Gambler
The relationship between sports and gambling is increasingly symbiotic, with each industry sustaining and profiting from the other. Gambling operators rely on loyal sports fans, while professional sports leagues benefit financially from betting partnerships and sponsorships. Sport is no longer a spectator activity enjoyed from the sidelines; rather, it is packaged and marketed as a betting product. Indeed, wagering has become a core expression of engagement (Hing et al., 2023). Football, as the epicentre of this commercial alignment, provides a salient site for analysing gambling advertising. Employing a social semiotic framework drawn from visual semiotics (Kress & van Leeuwen, 2006; Ledin & Machin, 2022), this paper examines how football betting advertisements utilise semiotic resources to communicate specific discourses. By analysing the complexities of semiotic choices, I uncover how gambling is legitimised. As van Leeuwen (2018, p.18) observes: “in studying legitimation, attention must be paid… to multimodality”. The discursive themes that I identify as running across the adverts – (1) the selling of nostalgia and authenticity, (2) the framing of fanhood, and (3) the performance of togetherness – encompass a myriad of subtle yet insidious multi-semiotic techniques. These techniques manipulate discourse and emotions to obscure the harsh reality of potential monetary loss, instead recontextualising betting as a rightful reward to which loyal supporters are entitled.