Norwich City vow to “never again” partner with a gambling firm
Championship outfit renews front-of-shirt deal with car manufacturer Lotus as it rejects gambling industry offers
Norwich City have pledged to “self-regulate” and promised to “never again” partner with a front-of-shirt gambling sponsor ahead of a potential ban on such deals resulting from the Gambling Act 2005 review.
The Championship club, relegated from the Premier League last season, currently sports local automotive firm Lotus as its front-of-shirt sponsor following a trio of gambling partnerships.
The Norfolk club found itself in hot water with its supporters in July 2021 after announcing Asia-facing bookmaker BK8 as its sponsor in a deal worth a reported £5m per season.
The partnership was terminated after three days after it emerged of BK8 was using highly sexualised images of young women to promote its products on social media.
Previously, Norwich sported Dafabet and LeoVegas on the front of the club’s shirts.
Lotus was drafted in to replace BK8 for the 2021-22 season, and has now inked a extension on the deal for the upcoming 2022-23 season.
Speaking to the club’s YouTube channel, Norwich commercial director Sam Jeffery said that the club had offers from gambling firms in the post-season but had decided to distance itself from the industry.
Jeffery said: “We have to assess all opportunities; it would almost be commercially irresponsible not to do so. The previous deal with Lotus on the front of the shirt was a one-year deal so there was a requirement for us to go and assess the market to see what other opportunities were out there.
“There were some opportunities, specifically within the betting space, and these opportunities derived a higher partnership fee as is the case with industries such as betting.
“However, we believe this was time, and this was a club-wide decision, that this was the time to almost self-regulate when it comes to betting on the front of our shirt,” he added.
Jeffery revealed gambling firms can offer hundreds of thousands of pounds in fees for a Championship club, with this rising into the millions for Premier League sides.
He continued: “Certainly, with the club in its current structure, we will never again have a betting brand on the front of our shirt. We were always keen on working with Lotus – we weighed this up against a significant betting offer, and we believe this is the right time to self-regulate.
“[It goes back to our] values. What we stand for and the revenue that can be derived [from betting firms]. Our values stand for more and we are proud to say we will no longer have a betting partner on the front of our shirt,” he concluded.