The Premier League, EFL, The FA and Women’s Super League have formally agreed to adopt a new Code of Conduct for Gambling Related Agreements in Football.
Football authorities, alongside a number of other major national bodies of sport, have developed a principle-based approach to a voluntary code of conduct, with each sport committed to producing a code specific for their own sport.
The Code, which will apply to the football authorities and clubs in the professional game, will be implemented at the start of Season 2024/25 and includes the following four general principles around gambling sponsorship:
1. Protection – to protect children and other vulnerable persons, gambling sponsorship must be specifically designed to limit its reach and promotion to those under the age of 18 and those at risk of gambling related harm;
2. Social responsibility – gambling sponsorship must be promoted and delivered in a socially responsible way. This includes ensuring that education and awareness messages are provided as part of all marketing activities;
3. Reinvestment – the commercial income raised from gambling sponsorship must be reinvested back into infrastructure and programmes that serve football fans and communities. This includes investment in staging strong competitions, improving infrastructure such as stadia and training facilities and providing community and grassroots participation opportunities for local communities;
4. Integrity – gambling sponsorship must not compromise the integrity of football competitions nor harm the welfare of those participants who take part in them.
The aim of the Code is to ensure that gambling sponsorships are delivered in a socially responsible way by being designed to limit the reach to children and those at risk of gambling related harm.
Last year, Premier League clubs collectively agreed to withdraw gambling sponsorship from the front of clubs’ matchday shirts from the end of the 2025/26 season. The League was the first sports league in the UK to take such a measure voluntarily.
The Code of Conduct for Gambling Related Agreements in Football can be viewed here.
