EPL Clubs Set to Vote on Voluntary Gambling Sponsor Ban

Gambling Sponsor Ban Could Cost Clubs £40M per Season

Now, if you’re a fan of the English Premier League, you’re likely aware of or involved in the betting for each match that arises over the 38-game game week each season. Fans bet on every possible thing to happen in a Premier League game, from a Ronaldo hattrick, what position Arsenal will finish, and even how fast someone will score the first goal. As of the 2021/22 season, of the 20 teams, 50% of them have shirt sponsors involved in gambling. West Ham, Southampton, Crystal Palace, Newcastle, and so many more have multimillion-dollar deals with international gambling organizations to sponsor their kit… well maybe not anymore.

In recent news, it was announced that the British Government is set to introduce legislation that prohibits gambling with an updated White Paper on gambling to update its 15-year-old legislation to update gambling laws to the modern, digital era. It’s all a big mess, especially with the UK’s Gambling Minister Chris Philip resigning yesterday, as well as the resignation of Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The legislative ban is set to reduce the max wager on online casinos, ban games that allow fans to lose incredible amounts of money, as well as ban free bets, in an attempt to reduce the gambling issues occurring nationwide.

Now, this seems very reasonable, but one of the top leagues in the world is extremely hesitant and worried about the potential financial repercussions set to occur if the ban legislation is voted in favour on July 21st, so the Premier League has taken matters into their own hands. The combined shirt sponsor deals are valued at hundreds of millions of Great British Pounds, with the SkyBet Championship, the second-tier in English soccer, having announced the ban will cost the clubs £40 million per season!

The Premier League has requested clubs to vote on whether or not to introduce a voluntary ban on gambling sponsorships on shirts, pending the official ruling from Her Majesty’s Government. Doing so would attempt to limit gambling exposure to fans while saving millions for the football development hierarchy in the UK. However, it may not be enough, as fans see more than just the shirts, but see ads, billboards, social media posts, pitch-side sponsors, everything!

Regardless of the political side of things, this could be a huge loss for English Football, with millions of pounds at stake. At WWM, we look at a bigger picture: Can the Premier League survive an insurmountable loss all at once? Who can take its place? Furthermore, does Cryptocurrency even count?

It would be cool to see no sponsors on the shirts and just the logo of the club, bringing the league back decades, but it will be a huge loss for the Premier League.

July 8, 2022 - Issue 46 of The Sport Marketeer