BGC hails “huge practical implications” of new cross-industry codes for sports betting deals

The lobby group worked on the agreements with various sporting bodies.

UK.- The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has hailed the new Codes of Conduct for gambling-related agreements drawn up with major British sports bodies. The lobby group was involved in drafting the voluntary agreements recently announced by football bodies such as the Premier League, English Football League, The FA and Women’s Super League and by the British Horseracing Authority.

Bodies representing darts, snooker and boxing have also announced new codes. The agreements aim to establish new standards for responsible gambling sponsorship with four key principles: protection, social responsibility, reinvestment and integrity. Gambling sponsorship deals must now be designed to limit reach among under 18s and people at risk of gambling-related harm.

The BGC said the codes have “huge practical implications” for gambling sponsorship in sport. In football, deals must ensure footballers are aware of support services and that club social media accounts do not include links to betting operators’ websites. Clubs must also ensure that a reasonable and proportionate portion of assets promote safer gambling messages, which can include perimeter boards and match day programmes.

BGC chair Michael Dugher said: “I welcome the publication of these landmark codes that BGC has led on, which sets new standards for sports. These new measures are good for sport, good for BGC members and good for fans.

“BGC members are proud to support some of the most popular sports up and down the country, and that support goes hand in hand with these principles. That includes protecting the young, being socially responsible, delivering investment in communities, particularly working class communities which share such close ties to these sports, and maintaining the sporting integrity which makes British clubs the best in the world.”

He added: “These codes will be a big step forward and is something we have been working on for many years, long before the white paper. Our work in this area is another demonstration of our commitment to ensure that any betting sponsorship agreement must be undertaken in a responsible way.

“It is the latest in a long list of measures the BGC has launched to raise standards, including betting operators’ logos being removed from children’s clothing – including replica football kits – and the whistle to whistle ban which has reduced the number of TV betting commercials viewed by children during live sports before the watershed by 97%.”

He continued: “BGC members are committed to safer gambling and signposting available support regularly and prominently, while our largest members helped deliver a record donation of £172m to tackle gambling harm between 2019 and 2024. When we say we are raising standards, we mean business, and this is further concrete evidence of that determination.”