Finance expert Kieran Maguire shared that Sunderland owners would have to hugely change their opinion in order to see a ban on front-of-shirt gambling sponsorships in the English Football League (EFL).
In an interview for Football Insider, Mr Maguire shared some thoughts on the chances of the lower tiers of English football facing a gambling sponsorship ban and the potential effect such a suspension would have on the League.
As Casino Guardian previously reported, on April 13th, the English Premier League (EPL) officially revealed that top-tier clubs in the UK had collectively supported the proposed gambling sponsorship ban under which they would no longer be able to display their gambling industry sponsors on the fronts of their shirts. The measure is set to come into effect in 2026 because football clubs would need some time to make the necessary changes to their ongoing sponsorship deals.
Sunderland A.F.C., which currently occupies the sixth position in the Championship, is one of the many English Football League clubs that have a gambling operator as a sponsor. Last year, the club signed a three-year deal with the UK betting operator Spreadex.
EFL Clubs Currently More Dependent on Gambling Sponsorships Money
Although British lawmakers have been long discussing the aforementioned measure as part of their efforts to reduce the potential gambling-related harm for local people, Mr Maguire does not believe that a gambling ban would apply to the English Football League, with a large number of clubs in the lower tiers currently rely quite a bit on their commercial income.
In an interview for Football Insider, the finance expert said that a front-of-shirt ban is unlikely in the EFL. According to him, the fact that the EFL clubs are more dependent on commercial income because of the fact their TV deal’s worth is much smaller, it is not very likely for those clubs to take measures and withdraw from their partnerships with the local gambling market voluntarily. As far as Sunderland A.F.C. is concerned, the club will hardly take any measures to see such a ban introduced, unless there was a massive change in opinion among its owners.
The finance expert explained that a large number of football club owners are often subsidising their clubs to very high levels, which makes them even more unlikely to volunteer and give up potential commercial income that a gambling sponsorship deal would otherwise bring them.
Mr Maguire further noted that the front-of-shirt gambling ban is set to be introduced in 2026 for the English Premier League.
Currently, eight out of the 20 teams in the EPL feature a gambling or betting brand on their shirt fronts, while the majority of them have a gambling company as a sponsor. The clubs will have until the 2026/2027 football season to end their ongoing sponsorship agreements with operators such as Hollywoodbets, W88, Fun88, Dafabet, Betway, etc.
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Olivia Cole
