The English Premier League is one of the most popular football leagues in the world, and soon its clubs may be banned from accepting sponsorship from online casinos and sportsbooks. The UK government is preparing to release a white paper on gambling, which could lead to legislative changes. Stay tuned for more updates on this story!
Some clubs, including Newcastle United, Brentford, Wolverhampton Wanderers, West Ham United, Southampton, and Leeds United, were accused of having the names or logos of iGaming firms on their matchday jerseys last season. In June 2018, newly promoted AFC Bournemouth signed a two-year partnership with Dafabet.com to promote online sportsbook wagering. Crystal Palace is said to have dropped Asia-facing online casino and sports betting brand W88 as its official shirt sponsor for the 2018/19 season that begins August 5th.
The Times reported that banning commercial logos on shirts had met resistance from the FA and some top professional players. If at least 14 Premier League clubs agree, there may be a three-year grace period, with a potential for a three-year holdback. It is anticipated that the sides will favour allowing iGaming companies to continue marketing their products to an audience of more than 3 billion people after restricting matchday jerseys’ sleeves was proposed.
According to the Guardian, cutting iGaming firms out of prominent “front-of-shirt” marketing contracts may cost individual teams up to £10 million ($12 million) a season. As a result, the Premier League expects the government not to seek an immediate ban but rather allow the league to develop its own revised sponsorship rules over time.
According to the Times, if the Premier League’s take drops by more than 100 million pounds, concerned teams may request that the league reduce payments to the three lower-division companies. However, a substantial revenue decrease might accompany a government initiative to ban minor-league clubs from accepting gaming sponsorships.
According to reports, the Premier League is delaying a decision on whether to ban ‘front-of-shirt’ iGaming sponsorship until after the race for Britain’s next prime minister. Two candidates are running for the position, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, and they have different opinions on the issue.
