Teams in the English Premier League clubs have jointly consented to withdraw gambling sponsorship from the front of their matchday shirts by the expiration of the 2025-26 campaign.
However, after the time limit, clubs will still be able to carry on featuring gambling brands in regions such as shirt sleeves and LED advertising.
And teams will be permitted to get new shirt-front agreements before the deadline.
8 teams have betting companies on the front of their shirts
Eight Premier League clubs have gambling organizations on the front of their shirts, valued at approximately £60 million yearly.
These teams are AFC Bournemouth, Brentford FC, Everton, Fulham, Leeds United, Newcastle United, Southampton and West Ham United
This declaration is coming after consultation involving the league, its teams and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) as part of the government’s continuous evaluation of present gambling legislation.
The move would make the English Premier League the first sports league in the UK to take such an action willingly so as to reduce gambling advertising.
The English Premier League is also partnering with other sports on the creation of a new code for responsible gambling sponsorship.
Changes to the Gambling Act 2005 were to a great degree agreed by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson before he stepped down in July 2022, resulting to a delay in a gambling white paper being released.
The government was not anticipated to table outlawing gambling sponsorship, with the aim being for the top-flight league in England to consent voluntarily to a change.
On Thursday, Lucy Frazer, who was designated Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in February, stated she “welcomed the decision by the Premier League”.
Lucy Frazer added: “The vast majority of adults gamble safely but we have to recognise that footballers are role models who have enormous influence on young people.”.
“We want to work with institutions like the Premier League to do the right thing for young fans. We will soon bring forward a gambling white paper to update protections for punters and ensure those who are at risk of gambling harm and addiction are protected.”
How did the Premier League get to this point?
One spokesperson of the DCMS in an interaction with BBC Sport last May said that they are undertaking “the most comprehensive review of gambling laws in 15 years to make sure they are fit for the digital age”.
Activists for a bigger ban say gambling sponsorship in football has regularize the industry, and that firmer regulation is needed to safeguard children and other groups at risk.
The Betting and Gambling Council, which acts in the interest of the industry, stated the “overwhelming majority” of the 22.5 million individuals in the United Kingdom who bet every month, gamble “safely and responsibly”.
The council added: the “rate of problem gambling remains low by international standards at 0.3% of the UK’s adult population, down from 0.4% the year previous”.
During the summer of 2022, Everton revealed they had agreed a club-record, multi-year collaboration with casino and sports betting company Stake.com.
After the agreement made by the Premier League was disclosed on Thursday, Everton’s present coach Sean Dyche stated: “I am not going to get too involved in the debates of judging about it but they have made a collective decision and all parties have agreed with that.”
Several teams in the English Premier League have got ties with betting companies.
- Arsenal has got ties with Sportsbet.io (official betting partner).
- Aston Villa also has ties with a betting company known as OUBAO BET (sleeve sponsors).
- Brentford has ties with Hollywoodbets (shirt sponsor).
- Burnley who would be battling in the Premier League next campaign has a sponsorship agreement with Dafabet (other partner).
- Chelsea, Everton, Leicester and Newcastle United have ties with Russian betting company Parimatch.
- Crystal Palace have betting company W88 (shirt sponsors).
- Leeds United SBOTOP (shirt sponsors), bet365 (betting partner).
- Leicester City alongside the Parimatch deal have agreements with HTH (official betting partner), Betway, W88 (other partners).
- Liverpool with 1xBet (official partner).
- Manchester United have betting agreements with HTH (official betting partner).
- Newcastle United with Fun88 (shirt sponsors), bet365, Parimatch and BoyleSports (betting sponsor).
- Southampton with Sportsbet.io (shirt sponsors).
- Tottenham Hotspur with William Hill, Fun88, Betway (official betting partners).
- West Ham United with Betway (shirt sponsors) and Wolverhampton Wanderers has ties with ManBetX(shirt sponsors), bet365, BoyleSports (official betting partners).
