Campaigners ask UK PM to ban Football gambling sponsorship

Activists plan on delivering a letter to the UK prime minister on Wednesday asking him to end betting sponsorships associated with the game of football.

Campaigners from The Big Step and Gambling with Lives claim that the relationship between wagering and football has now reached a “saturation point”.

Out of the 44 teams participating in the Premier League and Championship, 27 showcase a gamblingbusiness on their shirts.

The letter reads, “We believe there would be considerable support for a ban from fans.”

An earlier statement from Mark Palios, ex-FA boss,said, “Football has to wean itself off the position it is in at the moment – and that’s the best verb I can use.It’s certainly gone too far.”

In another news released earlier this month, bookmakers are also considering a voluntary ban on football shirt sponsorship and pitchside advertising.

“A recent survey by the Football Supporters’ Association found that only 13% of fans would be happy for their club to be sponsored by a gambling company”, the letter claims.

3 divisions of the Football League, namely Championship, League One and League Two, are sponsored by a betting business.

The letter also goes on to highlight a survey where wagering advertisements and logos were visible on the BBC’s Match of the Day for almost 90% of the time.

The UK has 430,000 problem gamblers, with anadditional2 million people at risk, as per the Gambling Commission.

The letter also says, “We are deeply concerned that impressionable young fans are being desensitised to the severe risks of addiction through gambling normalisation in football.”

The 2 groups are asking the government for a ban on betting advertising in football like the 2005 phase out of tobacco sponsorship in 2005.

They are proposing that the legislation shouldinclude provisions to ban:

• gambling logos on kits
• gambling advertising on pitchsideboundary
• advertising by gambling companies inside the stadium
• sponsorship of football leagues by gambling businesses

In January, the new sports minister Nigel Adams told BBC Sport that football has “far too much dependency” on betting sponsorship and said there would be a review of the Gambling Act 2005.

UK’s biggest gambling companies voluntarily agreed to a “whistle-to-whistle” television advertising ban in 2018.

The letter states, “We know there is considerable cross-party support for a major overhaul of the Gambling Act.The damage done by gambling is widespread and serious.”