Premier League team owners arranged a meeting on March 25 to discuss potential partnerships between their clubs and bookmakers. The main goal of the meeting was the establishment of shirt sponsorship rules and gambling addiction initiatives. The cooperation between betting companies and football teams has caused consecutive reviews of the 2005 Gambling Act.
Will Bookies Still Sponsor Football Clubs?
In January 2020, PM Boris Johnson’s senior cabinet said that a ban on football shirt sponsorships relating to gambling was likely to come. The EPL, though, has not yet made any official announcements regarding future partnerships and marketing relationships with betting sites.
The CEO of EPL, Richard Masters, stated: “There needs to be a rebalancing, that is fine, but we do not think there should be a prohibition on sponsorship of football clubs or other sports clubs, for that matter.”
The EFL Chairman, Rick Parry, said that maintaining betting sponsorships is an essential revenue source for low-budget clubs. He also argued that all English football sponsorships should be spreading safer gambling awareness.
The debate on gambling partnership regulations has divided sports institutions and franchises on two sides. Therefore, the government must take proper measures to maintain a balance between commercial benefits and anti-addiction messaging in sports betting.