The English Football League is at odds with the UK government over a House of Lords reports which recommends cancelling Premier League & lower-division gambling sponsorships without offering a solution for replacing the £40 million per season loss.
With the global lockdowns and the restrictions placed on sporting teams and venues, it is critical for many clubs that they maintain as many revenue streams as possible to ensure that they are able to keep their collective heads above water.
Unfortunately, this need for revenue is coming into conflict with political concerns over the possibility that strongly associating celebrities and sports teams with gambling could negatively impact youth gambling addiction and influence already at risk adult gamblers.
Poorly Timed Report
The House of Lords published a report which outlined an exit plan for Premier League and lower division football teams to distance themselves from gambling sponsorships.
The report suggests that Premier League teams exit their branded sponsorships as early as next season, which means removing all casino and betting shop logos and wording from their shirts.
It recommends that lower division teams exit all such sponsorship deals by 2023, presumably because these teams are not seen as widely as Premier League and the teams could not afford any early exit penalties.
The House of Lords report never deigns to offer any support or roadmap for how the government can assist the league should it lose the more than £40 million per season which these gambling sponsorships represent.
Keep Your Shirt On
With the very possibility that being forced to exit their sponsorship deals could shutter some football teams the English Football League (EFL) has strongly urged the UK government to put the House of Lords report aside.
An EFL spokesman said:
“The League firmly believes a collaborative, evidence-based approach to preventing gambling harms that is also sympathetic to the economic needs of the sport will be of much greater benefit than the blunt instrument of blanket bans. It is our belief that sports organisations can work with the Government and the gambling industry to ensure partnerships are activated in a responsible fashion.”
The spokesperson spoke plainly calling the recent viral outbreak the most challenging storm ever weathered by EFL clubs in its history and that following the recommendations of the aforementioned report would be the final nail in the coffin of many smaller teams.
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