The Premier League in the U.K. will take baby steps on the subject of sponsors names on shirts. They’ll take the names off the front—voluntarily. The government will not make it mandatory.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson approved the voluntary nature before he stepped down. With Boris gone, the teams and the use of sponsorships on uniforms has continued, largely under the argument that they are needed for the financial stability of the clubs, not all of which are billionaire-backed.
Regardless of what happens to jersey sponsorships, however, betting companies will still make their presence known in Premier League stadiums.
Last month, Aston Villa was reported to have signed a deal with Asia-based betting firm BK8. It later issued a statement saying, “the commercial reality is that to teams outside the top six, such sponsors offer clubs twice as much financially as non-gambling companies.”
The Premier League has gone on record that “a self-regulatory approach would provide a practical and flexible alternative to legislation or outright prohibition.”
Critics say that the proliferation of gambling sponsorship in football has desensitized the industry, and that tighter regulation is needed to protect children and other vulnerable groups.
The Betting and Gambling Council, the trade industry, said most of the 22.5 million people in the U.K. who bet each month, do so “safely and responsibly.”
Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith said: “At the moment, we are probably the country with the most liberal gambling laws in the world.”
Smith is part of the All Party Parliamentary Group on gambling-related harm, which has been lobbying the government for tougher protections.
He said betting company names need to come off football shirts entirely to “stop thousands of people wandering around as advertising.”
