iGB Affiliate 65 Oct/Nov | Page 71

INSIGHT DON’T PUT YOUR SHIRT ON IT The lucrative partnerships between English Premier League teams and gambling companies are under threat from the triennial review and the opposition’s calls for an outright ban, says Scott Longley THE CURRENT ENGLISH Premier League season may come to be seen as a high-water mark for the number of shirts sponsored by gambling companies. In total, nine teams feature gambling companies on their shirts – West Ham, Newcastle, Everton, Crystal Palace, Swansea, Bournemouth, Stoke, Huddersfield and Burnley – and the other 11 have differing forms of betting partnerships and sponsorships as part of their commercial relationships. Since the relaxation of the rules in the Gambling Act 2005 regarding the advertising of gambling services, gambling advertising has become a fixture of the English game. It is also a valuable income stream. Sources suggest that those nine Premier League sponsorship deals are worth as much as £50m a year. But this high- profile relationship doesn’t come without controversy and a recent intervention from the shadow culture secretary, Tom Watson, suggests that some politicians wish that the gambling sector’s shirt sponsorship boom ends soon. In September, Watson announced that it was football’s responsibility to “play its part in tackling Britain’s hidden epidemic of gambling addiction” by stopping gaming-related advertising. “Shirt sponsorship sends out a message that football clubs don’t take problem gambling among their own fans seriously enough,” he said. “It puts gambling brands in front of fans of all ages, not just at matches but on broadcasts and highlights packages on both commercial television and the BBC.” the gambling minister Tra cey Crouch fielded five parliamentary questions on gambling issues. “Labour’s hostility does not augur well for the outcome of the gambling review,” Waugh adds. “The current spate of gambling controversies provides [Jeremy] Corbyn’s team with the chance of not only putting the Government on the spot but also clipping the Blairite wing of their party.” “The current spate of gambling controversies provides [Jeremy] Corbyn’s team with the chance of not only putting the Government on the spot but also clipping the Blairite wing of their party” Dan Waugh, Regulus Partners Advertising is already part of the upcoming triennial review being conducted by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport but this is an escalation of the anti-gambling stance being taken by the Labour Party. “There is a sense that Labour is just getting warmed up,” says Dan Waugh, partner at gambling consultancy Regulus Partners. He points out that in the same week that Labour aired its new policy, Shouting match of the day The football clubs are understandably tight-lipped about the future of shirt sponsorship. None of the clubs mentioned responded to our queries and their gambling partners were similarly unwilling to comment. However, a spokesperson for Letou (a Swansea sponsor) told the press: “Betting on football is as old as the game itself… [It] provides an entertaining iGB Affiliate Issue 65 OCT/NOV 2017 67