In July 2020, the House of Lords Select Committee recommended the ban on gambling from football sponsorships. They mentioned that the Premier League clubs should not be permitted to have betting companies on their shirts and their proposal was supported by the Gambling Related Harm All Party Parliamentary Group.
This prohibition from shirt sponsorships should be applied by 2023 and as for the other sports; it will come into effect in three years. As the EFL clubs shirt sponsorship and commercial arrangements by betting companies worth £40m per year, this ban will be fatal for clubs. Many credit cards accepting betting sites available at CasinoGap are concerned about this decision. Opposing such restriction, a statement was launched by the EFL outlining its willingness to continue the dialogue with the Government and stakeholders regarding betting sponsorship.
EFL will lose £40 million per year
The EFL deal with Sky Bet (one of the largest sports gambling companies in the world) was first signed in 2013 and it has been extended until the summer of 2024. This 11-year agreement is one of the longest professional sports sponsorships inked by Sky Bet and is worth multi-million pounds. For that reason, EFL was given another name ‘Sky Bet Football League’ due to this long-term partnership. The league underlined that the financial support from the betting and gaming industry sponsorships was important to the Football League clubs chiefly many sports clubs are facing financial problems because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As deemed by EFL, the league ensures that its partnerships are established in a responsible way. Since 16 out of the 24 Championships and half of Premier League clubs have betting firms sponsors, with this regulation, the EFL will have to find a £250 million funding to survive. Some of them have a betting logo on the front of their shirts whereas others signed a deal to have the firms’ logo on their shirt sleeves. If a Government review of gambling comes into effect, Premier League and Championship clubs will lose £110 million per year.
The EFL plans a panel discussion with the government
Labor MP Carolyn Harris revealed in an interview for Telegraph Sport that she would call for a ban on gambling shirt sponsorships. As specified by Carolyn Harris, evidence showed that gambling advertising in sports; primarily football, was impacting the generation of children coming up. Moreover, as stated by the EFL in the statement in October 2020, they wanted to continue an open dialogue with the government because betting sponsorship contribution is an important and vital income stream.
Nonetheless, still according to the EFL outline, the partnership will not only aim to provide a mutual income to the two sides but is also an opportunity to promote responsible gambling. “Players from all three divisions are wearing sleeve badges to encourage supporters to consider how they gamble,” said the League. In addition, the previous weeks before the outline release, the League asked Government officials to allow clubs to defer their tax payments worth millions of pounds. The EFL would, therefore, be able to solve a £250 million funding issue when the government accepted this demand.
Is the future of the EFL in danger?
The English Football League with the legal name the Football League Limited was founded in 1888 and the league is the oldest competition in world football. Triggered by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and its consecutive restrictive measures, the EFL clubs are facing an economic crisis.
Added to the government’s restriction regarding gambling sponsorship, the clubs' economy can quickly become uncontrollable and even irreparable. Taking this into account, EFL launched the outline for a dialogue with the government to find another solution instead of banning the football gambling partnerships. The majority of clubs' funding is through gambling sponsorships and they wonder whether they can survive due to this government restriction.