BGC welcomes proposed UK ban on unlicensed gambling sponsorship
The industry association said the move would protect fans and uphold standards.
UK.- The consultation hasn’t yet begun, but the Betting and Gaming Council, the lobby group representing the biggest gambling operators in the UK, has swiftly expressed its approval of plans to ban unlicensed gambling sponsorship in sports.
As outlined in a release by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) yesterday (Monday), the UK government plans to ban sponsorship deals between sports clubs and gambling operators that don’t hold licences from Britain’s Gambling Commission. That would include those in the Premier League, where a number of clubs currently carry sponsorship from operators not licensed in Great Britain.
The Premier League has voluntarily agreed to remove gambling sponsorship from the front of shirts by the end of the current season. However, under the voluntary commitment, gambling sponsorship would still be permissible in other locations, such as shirt sleeves.
The DCMS says this means that unlicensed operators can still gain a “major presence in the country’s most-watched sports league”. The new mandate from the DCMS would seek to limit this to Gambling Commission-licensed companies only.
A consultation on the proposed sponsorship ban will start in spring, but the BGC has issued a public response to the plans.
A spokesperson said: “The Betting and Gaming Council welcomes the Government’s plan to act to stop Premier League clubs accepting sponsorship from gambling operators that do not hold a UK licence.
“Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is right that gambling companies without a UK licence should be banned from sponsoring Premier League clubs and should go further to prevent these harmful illegal companies from sponsoring any sport in the UK.”
“At a time when the regulated sector is facing significantly higher taxation and ever tighter regulation while reducing advertising spend, it is more important than ever that firm action is taken against the growing harmful black market.
“Licensed members of the Betting and Gaming Council are regulated in Britain and follow strict rules on consumer protection, safer gambling and robust financial safeguards. Whereas, the illegal, harmful black market operators do not. They undermine player protections, avoid taxes, ignore safer gambling standards and put consumers at serious risk.
“We support action that protects fans, upholds standards and keeps customers safe within the regulated market.”
The DCMS also plans to create a new cross-industry taskforce bringing together social media platforms, banks and law enforcement with the objective of stopping unlicensed operators from advertising on social media platforms and preventing payments to unlicensed sites.
