The Chairman of the English Football League (EFL), Rick Parry, has warned that smaller football clubs, which are already struggling to manage financially because of the coronavirus pandemic, would be greatly affected by a possible ban on gambling sponsorship deals.
As previously reported by Casino Guardian, football clubs are facing potential restrictions associated with sponsorship agreements as part of an extensive review that is being held by the UK government into the country’s gambling laws and which is expected to be finalised in the weeks to come. According to anti-gambling campaigners, the close relationship between football and gambling operators has resulted in an increase in problem gambling rates and targeting underage individuals as betting companies aim at promoting their services to children, too.
Mr Parry, who heads the EFL, explained for the Financial Times there was no evidence that suggests suspending gambling companies’ sponsorship deals would reduce the prevalence of problem gambling in the UK.
Currently, the English Football League is sponsored by a gambling brand, as well. It has Flutter Entertainment-owned Sky Bet brand for a sponsor and is preparing to submit some evidence to the UK Government’s review into the country’s gambling legislation suitability to regulate the constantly changing gambling landscape, considering the rapid expansion of the sector.
According to Mr Parry, the EFL would manage to convince the authorities that the rise of gambling companies’ sponsorships in football has nothing to do with the increase in gambling addiction rates across the UK.
Smaller Football Clubs Would Struggle Financially if Gambling Companies Sponsorships Are Ceased
For the time being, shirt sponsorships are among the commercial deals of the biggest value that are available to football clubs. The EFL’s boss confirmed that the League’s 72 clubs could lose annual revenue of over £40 million in case further restrictions on gambling sponsorship agreements are imposed, and this is money they could simply not afford to lose.
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, ticket sales have been no longer an option for clubs to generate profit. According to Deloitte, ticket sales accounted for more than one-fifth of the total £785-million revenues of the Championship clubs in 2018/2019, while commercial revenues accounted for about one-quarter of the total amount.
Currently, half of the division’s 24 clubs have gambling companies as their main shirt sponsor. This is exactly why Mr Parry has projected a potential ban on shirt sponsorship deals with gambling operators would be catastrophic for the football clubs. According to him, football leagues and clubs should be free to enter commercial partnership deals with gambling companies.
The fate of shirt sponsorships in the country is still unclear at this point. A person with knowledge of the matter explained that the review of the UK Government would take into consideration all evidence before a final decision on the issue is made.
This is not the first time when the authorities have imposed restrictive measures on the gambling industry. The potential crackdown comes as part of the Government’s review of the Gambling Act 2005 that seeks to check whether the country’s legislative framework is suitable enough to answer the needs for industry regulation.
Anti-gambling campaigners have insisted that such sponsorships tend to make gambling look normal to children and use fans’ relationship with football to popularise their services among younger audiences. According to data provided by the National Health Service (NHS), there are currently about 300,000 gambling addicts in England.
- Author
Olivia Cole
