UK Government Considers Restrictions on Casino Ads on Football Shirts

Premier League teams may be required to withdraw betting businesses as shirt sponsors. With the end of the English football season approaching, BBC Sport reported that unidentified sources told them that a draft white paper on betting reform might prohibit teams from keeping casino firms as their principal shirt sponsors. This white paper has been in the works for a while, but it is likely to be published soon despite delays. Half of the Premier League’s 20 teams have gambling labels on their jerseys, and the sponsorships contribute significantly to earnings. However, advocates have backed a ban suggested by a House of Lords select committee in 2020. This comes just after footballers, celebrities, and social media influencers were barred from appearing in gambling advertisements in the United Kingdom under new regulations set by the government.

Gambling companies’ partnerships with football clubs are likely to suffer, especially if BBC Sport’s recent report is accurate. In 2020 The House of Lords committee proposed a shirt sponsorship ban for Premier League teams but noted that clubs in the Championship and lower should be allowed time to phase out their betting deals. This might imply that any ban would be implemented until the 2023-24 season at the earliest. However, there have also been conversations about Premier League teams voluntarily removing gambling sponsorship off jerseys. However, the Premier League and EFL think insufficient data to establish a relationship between gambling sponsorship and compulsive gambling