The English Premier League, renowned for its global reach and lucrative broadcasting deals, has recently come under scrutiny for its increasing ties with gambling companies.?The Guardian reported that the recent announcement by Bournemouth, which took the total number of Premier League clubs with a gambling company as their front-of-shirt sponsor to 11, has sparked a wave of criticism.?This means that more than half of England’s top-flight teams will have a betting company on the front of their shirt, up from eight last season.

Chelsea remains the only Premier League club yet to announce a front-of-shirt sponsor. They began last season without one after supporters lobbied against a deal with an online casino. This shows a growing awareness and concern among fans about the potential harms associated with gambling.

The increase in gambling sponsorships comes despite an agreement by top-flight clubs last April to restrict betting sponsorships. However, with the ban not due to come into effect until the 2026-27 season, clubs continue to strike deals with gambling firms, including cryptocurrency casinos and Asian betting companies.

Call for change for controversial partnerships

The Big Step, a campaign dedicated to removing the ubiquitous gambling advertising in football, has expressed concerns about loopholes and brands still being permitted on shirt sleeves and advertising hoardings.?The campaign, led by people harmed by gambling, argues that Premier League clubs must recognize that gambling harms are a serious public health issue that destroys many lives in their communities and around the world.

The Big Step has pointed to the stricter regulations in Spain, Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands, where clubs are prohibited from shirt-sponsorship deals with betting companies. The charity argues that the sport’s greed does not justify exposing millions of young fans to addictive and harmful products.

Despite the impending ban and growing criticism, several Premier League clubs have recently announced record-breaking sponsorship deals with gambling companies. Bournemouth announced a “record-breaking” two-year contract with the Asian company bj88, replacing Dafabet. The latest deal is understood to be worth almost double the previous one and almost double the sum offered by non-betting companies.

Southampton, promoted to the Premier League announced a partnership with Rollbit, a “crypto and NFT casino”?Similarly, Crystal Palace and Wolves have confirmed betting partners as their shirt sponsor.?Wolves and Palace announced “record” deals, the former with the Vietnamese company DeBet and the latter with the Asian operator Net88.

How other sports leagues handle the issue

The handling of gambling sponsorships in sports leagues is a complex issue that varies depending on the sport, the country, and the specific league’s regulations and attitudes towards gambling. As the debate continues, it’s clear that striking a balance between the financial benefits of these sponsorships and the potential harms associated with gambling is a challenging task.

Gambling sponsorships are not unique to the Premier League; they are prevalent in various sports leagues worldwide. However, the approach to these sponsorships varies significantly across different sports and regions.

In the UK, the government is considering whether to ban gambling sponsorship in football as part of its review of the Gambling Act. The English Football League chairman, Rick Parry, has warned that such a ruling could cause some of its 72 clubs to go under. The EFL, which is sponsored by Sky Bet, could lose ￡40 million a year in revenue if a gambling sponsorship ban were implemented.

The Premier League is expected to vote on banning gambling companies from the front of shirts but allow other forms of advertising to remain. In the current 2022/23 season, more Premier League shirts are sponsored by gambling companies than any other business – eight out of 20.

The white paper on gambling regulation requires sports governing bodies to develop and adopt a gambling sponsorship code of conduct. This code will be common to all sports, but it will need to incorporate flexibility to accommodate the material differences between sports.

In other sports, such as American football, basketball, and baseball, gambling sponsorships are also common. However, these sports have different regulations and attitudes towards gambling. For example, the National Football League (NFL) in the United States only recently relaxed its rules on gambling advertisements and sponsorships.

While some clubs are cashing in on lucrative deals with gambling companies, others are taking a stand against the industry. Luton, relegated to the Championship last season, is among 35 clubs who back The Big Step. The club’s chief executive, Gary Sweet, has outlined their hardline stance against partnering with the industry. He estimated Luton’s decision to forgo gambling sponsors in the Premier League cost them about ￡3 million last season.

The Premier League has stated that it had become the first sports league in the UK to ban front-of-shirt sponsorship voluntarily and that it was “working with other sports on the development of a new code for responsible gambling sponsorship”. However, with the ban not due to come into effect until the 2026-27 season, the debate over the role of gambling sponsorships in football is likely to continue.

As the Premier League and its clubs navigate this controversial issue, they will need to balance the financial benefits of these lucrative deals with the potential harms associated with gambling. With increasing scrutiny from fans, campaigners, and potentially regulators, the Premier League’s relationship with gambling companies is set to remain a hot topic in the coming years.

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