The UK Government is expected to speed up its review into sponsorship agreements between gambling operators and football clubs. The move is taken at a time when an increasing number of anti-gambling campaigners have been calling for the authorities to ban such sponsorships that, according to them, normalise gambling in football.
Currently, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is carrying out an audit into the country’s gambling regulations, which is expected to have some serious negative consequences for the historic relationship between the gambling sector and professional football.
The British Government is expected to start a call for evidence from gambling companies and other organisations linked to the sector, such as the English Football League (EFL) and the English Premier League (EPL), by the end of the week at the earliest. According to media reports, the process, which will provide the country’s gambling operators to share their points of view on the ongoing review, is likely to last approximately three months.
Still, English football clubs remain optimistic that the review that is being carried out by the DCMS is to be completed in time for the 2021/22 campaign because in such case they will have a better understanding of the future of sponsorship agreements. Many football clubs and gambling companies have shared their concern that the changes will end up with the establishment of even more restrictions on the relationship between professional sport and gambling advertising.
“Normalisation” of Gambling in Football Could Be Dangerous, Campaigners Say
The UK Government has indeed been considering the implementation of a blanket ban on football clubs to appoint gambling companies as their main shirt sponsors.
Gambling operators are expected to use the call for evidence process to oppose the stricter measures that are being considered by the Government as they believe such measures to be unnecessary. According to experts, many companies have been planning to use the chance and outline their plans for self-regulation and the establishment of a safer gambling environment that would also be a more customer-friendly one.
In any case, the review is likely to have a significant effect on the football scene in the UK and football clubs will also call for clarification so they can come up with better plans in line with the considered changes.
Currently, 8 of the 20 clubs in the English Premier League have gambling companies as their shirt sponsors. English Football League clubs also have relationships with gambling operators, with some of the deals being particularly significant for both parties, especially considering the ongoing financial difficulties brought to the sectors by the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown that followed.
The last few years have seen many professional football clubs from the EPL and the Championship face criticism due to their sponsorship agreements with gambling operators. Anti-gambling campaigners have claimed that such a relationship could make some football fans believe there is a relationship between gambling and football. Apart from that, some campaigners have been saying such a “normalisation” of gambling could have a significant negative effect on underage individuals and claim children could be easily targeted by gambling companies that are advertised as football clubs’ shirt sponsors.
- Author
Daniel Williams
