English Football League calls for continuation of gambling sponsorships
Three-league body voices support for partnerships activated “in a responsible fashion” and disagrees with “blunt instrument” of blanket ban
The English Football League (EFL) has called on the government not to ban gambling sponsorships due to an increased reliance on sponsorship revenue in the wake of Covid-19.
The EFL, which is currently sponsored by Sky Bet, voiced its counter argument one day after the House of Lords Select Committee on the Social and Economic Impact of the gambling industry recommended a blanket ban on betting sponsorships from 2023.
In its 194-page report, the committee recommended prohibiting gambling brands from appearing on shirts and sleeves, as well as through inside and outside stadia advertising and in print programmes.
In response, the EFL cited the substantial financial hardships of EFL clubs affected by the Covid-19 lockdown, with more than £40m a season being paid to both the leagues and clubs through sponsorships and betting partnerships.
“The significant contribution betting companies make to the ongoing financial sustainability of professional football at all levels is as important now as it has ever been,” the EFL said in a statement provided to EGR.
At the start of the 2019-20 campaign, more than half of EFL championship clubs had existing sponsorship deals with gambling operators, including championship high-flyers Leeds United.
Many lower league clubs have been severely affected by the lockdown, with former League Cup winners Wigan Athletic FC becoming the latest club to enter administration earlier this week while allegedly embroiled in a betting scandal.
“The EFL has an open and regular dialogue with all relevant stakeholders regarding football’s ongoing relationship with the gambling industry and it is our belief that sports organisations can work with government and the gambling industry to ensure partnerships are activated in a responsible fashion,” the EFL said.
“The association between football and the gambling sector is long-standing and the League firmly believes a collaborative, evidence-based approach to preventing gambling harms that is also sympathetic to the economic needs of sport will be of much greater benefit than the blunt instrument of blanket bans,” the EFL added.
Commenting further on the issue, a Sky Betting & Gaming spokesperson said: “Sky Betting & Gaming welcomes the thorough and detailed work of the HOL Select Committee, which provides a valuable platform for the once in a generation discussion we now need to have in the planned review of the Gambling Act.
“On the particular issue of sports sponsorship, we believe that Sky Bet’s partnership with the EFL demonstrates how sports bodies and betting operators can work together to help support the financial sustainability of sport in a socially responsible way.
“We have placed safer gambling at the heart of our partnership, with safer gambling messaging on players’ shirts, in-stadia and in digital assets, and made a £1m investment into an education programme about the risks related to gambling for all clubs across the EFL.”
In addition to the calls for a blanket ban on sponsorships by gambling firms, the House of Lords report also called for operators to be prohibited from streaming UK matches on betting apps, as well as stopping the FA from selling broadcast rights to licensed gambling firms.
It follows a highly charged debate in the House of Commons earlier this year in which the government questioned the FA’s relationship with sports betting firms over the sale of streaming rights to firms including bet365 by the IMG group.
When approached for comment on the report, the FA reaffirmed its prior commitment to review the betting rights element of the media rights process ahead of tendering rights to the new cycle from the 2024-25 season onwards.
English football’s governing body also confirmed that it did not have the authority to legislate over gambling regulation, effectively distancing itself from the debate.
“We made a clear decision on the FA’s relationship with gambling companies in June 2017 when we ended our partnership with Ladbrokes. The leagues and clubs govern their own relationships with gambling companies,” the FA added.