Football fan survey: Who should be allowed to bet on matches?

Italy and Premier League midfielders Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Zaniolo are reportedly being investigated for betting on football matches – despite rules stating that anyone involved in the game should not be “directly involved” in activity such as setting odds or placing wagers on any game. The scandal follows recent reports that club owners have also been found to be gambling on matches through an “opaque arrangement” with the FA.

So who, if anyone, in a club’s hierarchy should be allowed to bet on games?

A YouGov poll of football fans finds that most think players (88%), coaching staff (85%), and club owners should not be allowed to gamble on matches involving their own team. The only category where supporters are split is non-playing, non-coaching staff: half (49%) say they should not be allowed to place bets on their own team, while just over two in five think they should be permitted to do so.

Fans are a bit more forgiving when it comes to matches involving other clubs, although they remain mostly opposed when it comes to players (69%), coaches (64%), and owners (58%) betting. However, just a third (33%) say non-playing, non-coaching staff should be prohibited from placing bets, with three in five (58%) saying they should be allowed to do so.

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YouGov polled 2,000 British adults online on 28-29 September 2023 BST. The survey was carried out through YouGov Surveys: Self-serve. Data is weighted by age, gender, education level, region, and social grade. The margin of error is 2% for the overall sample. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Self-serve.