Football clubs in the English Football League are taking a cut of losses from wagers placed with Sky Bet, and lawmakers in the U.K. are none too happy about it.
When the U.K. government found out, it sent a stern letter that demanded the cutbacks cease. Addressed to EFL chairman Rick Parry, the letter publicized that the league has gone too far, according to The Telegraph.
Sky Bet’s title sponsorship of the Championship, League One and League Two, was called an affiliate sponsorship with the bookie.
The six year agreement lasted six years, but was canceled three years ago. Still, some clubs still receive so-called legacy payments through 2024, when the contract with Sky Bet comes to an end.
The Parry letter carried the signatures of Liberal Democrat peer Lord Foster of Bath, a former government minister and the chair of Peers for Gambling Reform, Labour MPs Sir George Howarth, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Dan Carden, Zarah Sultana and Kim Johnson, and the Scottish National Party’s Ronnie Cowan.
They wrote: “We are writing to urge you to take immediate action on the relationship between gambling and football.”
The group stressed how such activity to susceptible gamblers makes a bad situation worse. They put the blame on gambling companies like Sky Bet, not on the clubs themselves.
“The Sky Bet sponsorship of the football league means that all 72 clubs are essentially forced to advertise gambling on their shirts, in their stadiums and on their websites—even if they don’t want to. This is unacceptable.”
The MPs did not ask the clubs to repay the legacy benefits but they are asking such payments cease and to end EFLs relationship with Sky Bet in 2024.
