Shirt sponsorship News LegalNederlandscasino.nl

Various online casinos support the English Premier League clubs through shirt sponsorship. Now there is a proposal to prohibit this form of advertising.

The government has included a proposal in a so -called White Paper to prohibit shirt advertisements from gambling companies. This proposal is part of the revision of the English gambling legislation.

It is the most extensive revision of gambling legislation in the last 15 years.
Department spokesperson for Digital, culture, Media, and Sport

Due to the changes to the law, it must ensure a good connection to the new digital age.

Income for many clubs

In addition to the television income, the merits of shirt sponsoring are a large part of the budget at English Premier Clubs. Half of the clubs have an online casino as a shirt sponsor. The following clubs have a gambling company as a shit sponsor:

Newcastle United	Bench
Southampton	Sportsbet.io
Brentford	Hollywoodbets
Watford	Stake.com
Burnley	Spreadex Sports
West Ham United	Betway
Crystal Palace	W88
Wolverhampton	ManBetX
Leeds United	Swow

Burnley and Watford relegate from the highest division but will also want to keep a class bearing their shirt sponsor. The PhD students Fullham, Bournemouth and Huddersfield Town/ Nottingham Forest currently do not have an online casino as a shirt sponsor. If it is not forbidden, these are clubs that are attractive for the online gambling companies.

Of online legal casinos Like to advertise in the Premier League. The largest competition on earth is broadcast all over the world. It is a great way to reach gamblers worldwide.

Divided responses

Opponents of the shirt sponsorship by online casinos respond enthusiastically about the proposal. They do not even go far enough as the proposal is about the Premier Leage. Also in the lower classes in English, advertising for gambling companies should be banned.

Some time ago the English Football League (EFL) warned that such a ban would be a disaster for the 72 clubs in the Championship, League One, and League Two. Sky Bet has been a sponsor of the EFL since 2013. At the 72 clubs it would mean a turnover loss of £ 40 million a year.

There is still some time to find replacement income, since the prohibition is implemented at the earliest in season 2023/2024.

James Grimes, word feed from the action group The Big Step does not find the proposal going far enough either. Grimes himself struggled for years with a gambling addiction and now wants to protect other people against gambling.

"This is a good thing, but it would be very inconsistent to scrap shirt sponsorship and at the same time allow advertising on the field, competition sponsorship and club partnerships."
James Grimes, The Big Step

There are also English football clubs that support Grimes in his fight against the Gok advertisements. Three clubs from the EFL signed an open letter addressed to the English government.