EFL Urges UK Government Not to Ban Gambling Sponsorship

The English Football League (EFL) has urged the UK Government to resist banning gambling sponsorship for fears it could put more clubs out of business.

Last week, the House of Lords select committee on gambling published a report which said that Premier League clubs should not be allowed to have the logos of betting firms on their shirts from next season – and that teams below the top flight should phase such deals out by 2023.

This season, half of the Premier League clubs have gambling companies as their main shirt sponsors.

The Lords report has now been put to the Government, who has promised to review the 2005 Gambling Act. It follows similar recommendations published last month by an influential group of MPs following a year-long inquiry.

However, EFL is strongly against the proposals given their reliance on money from the gambling sector and the financial crisis already inflicting their clubs.

An EFL spokesman said: “The Covid-19 pandemic represents perhaps the biggest challenge to the finances of EFL clubs in their history.

“With over £40 million a season paid by the sector to the League and its clubs, the significant contribution betting companies make to the ongoing financial sustainability of professional football at all levels is as important now as it has ever been.

“The League firmly believes a collaborative, evidence-based approach to preventing gambling harms that is also sympathetic to the economic needs of sport will be of much greater benefit than the blunt instrument of blanket bans.

“It is our belief that sports organisations can work with Government and the gambling industry to ensure partnerships are activated in a responsible fashion.”