UK's new football gambling sponsorship scheme shows money matters
In April this year, English Premier League (EPL) football clubs agreed to ban gambling sponsorship content from the front of the shirts of the top 20 clubs. The new policy will not come into effect until July 1, 2026, the start date of the 2026-27 season, and a series of gambling-related sponsorships are causing tensions.
Recently, Chelsea announced they were joining Stake.com, a move that was met with immediate backlash. The outcry was so intense that the deal was canceled.
Now two more bookmakers are set to join forces as main sponsors of Premier League teams, taking the number of clubs with bookmakers as main sponsors to nine.
Burnley, Fulham add betting sponsors
The first to sign a new contract was Burnley Football Club, a recently promoted team that has had gambling sponsors in the past. A week ago, the company announced it had signed a deal to add online gaming provider W88 as a front-of-shirt sponsor.
W88 has sponsorship relationships with Fulham Football Club, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa and will appear on the front of Burnley's shirts next season. The deal applies to both men's and women's teams and is simply described as extremely lucrative.
Despite strong opposition from fans when W88 was signed, Fulham found a bookmaker as their main sponsor. The club recently secured Royal Caribbean as a sponsor and signed a deal with iGaming company Sbotop for the 2023/24 season.
Blackpool Football Club, a third-tier football team that does not have to comply with the Premier League's new policy, has also joined the group. The company has selected LeoVegas on Manchester City players’ jerseys as its main sponsor for the 2023/24 season.
There is strong opposition
Aston Villa recently announced that they will be bringing in online bookmaker BK8 as their main sponsor. The move was not well received by the club's fans, given the Premier League's new policy and ongoing anti-betting sentiment in the UK.
The contract is for two seasons, but the buzz it creates could lead to a short-lived partnership. This has been observed recently and proves the influence fans have on a team.
After Chelsea announced it had agreed to put Stake.com on the front of its players' shirts, it didn't take long for the company to pull out of the deal. The club announced this week it was abandoning the plans after fierce opposition from the Chelsea Supporters Trust and others.
A recent study by the Football Supporters' Association (FSA), the football fans' lobby group, shows that the majority of fans in England and Wales are opposed to links between sports companies and gambling companies. 73% of 10,000 people surveyed said there was too much gambling advertising and sponsorship in football.
At least one club is listening. Sheffield United have publicly announced that they will not accept sponsorship from gambling companies, no matter how much money they offer.
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Source: www.casino.org
