Reports have emerged that the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) is about to sign a £10 million sponsorship deal with gambling giant William Hill. As reported by Mail Sport, the arrangement, if finalised, will see the SPFL receive £2 million from the betting company on an annual basis. This will mark a £400,000 increase from the money the SPFL received each year from its previous sponsor, the used-car service Cinch.
The agreement with Cinch was made official in 2021 and was supposed to last for five years, but from the very beginning, it was marred by controversy. Namely, Rangers F.C. did not agree to promote Cinch due to an existing deal with rival company Park’s of Hamilton. This ultimately led to a lengthy legal dispute that was settled in July last year, and that resulted in the SPFL issuing an apology to Rangers. Several months later, Cinch announced its decision to end its own partnership with the league two years earlier than originally agreed upon, and the company will officially step down from its position as the SPFL’s sponsor this summer.
Some Football Fans Take Issue With the Alleged Sponsorship
William Hill’s possible arrangement with the league has been met with disapproval from a number of SPFL fans who took to social media platforms like Reddit and X (formerly Twitter) to express their concerns. Some pointed out that several clubs are currently supported by other sportsbooks and suggested this might cause a problem similar to what happened with Cinch and Rangers. Of course, whether such a problem will become reality is not yet clear.
Moreover, the fans’ main issue lies with William Hill being a sports betting company and how many individuals in Scotland and across the UK are against gambling’s prominent connection to football. It was such sentiments from gambling reform advocates that, in 2022, prompted the British Committee of Advertising Practice to prohibit football players and other celebrities from participating in advertisements centred around gambling. In addition, the Premier League England announced last year that from the 2026-27 season onwards, the logos of betting companies will no longer be displayed on the front of players’ shirts. As the rule is partial, however, some MPs have doubted its effectiveness, not to mention many people continue to argue for a complete end to all forms of gambling ads in UK football. A number of Premier League clubs have also made the decision to not accept gambling sponsorships and have joined the Big Step Campaign.
However, although the UK Government’s Gambling White Paper does highlight betting ads as potential aggravators of gambling harm when it comes to vulnerable individuals, the proposed measures to address this mostly have to do with the imposing of restrictions on online ads and marketing campaigns, free promotions, and the like.
- Author
Daniel Williams
