HTH enters sponsorship deal with Inter Milan
The China-facing betting firm has signed a deal with the Serie A football club.
Italy.- China-facing HTH has signed a deal with Football Club Internazionale Milano to become the team’s official regional partner in Asia. No details have been released about the deal.
Italy has had a strict prohibition on gambling sponsorship targeting its own market since January 2019, but deals aimed at other markets are allowed. The Italian Football Federation has long been pushing the government to reconsider to help boost the sport’s finances in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Some operators have dodged the ban by roundabout arrangements. For example, SKS365’s PlanetPay365 has been able to sponsor Fiorentina, Roma and most recently Torino FC, since it’s the company’s payments division rather than its betting division.
Meanwhile, in the UK, clubs await the government’s delayed gambling white paper to see what lies in store for gambling sponsorship in the Premier League and other English football divisions. The Premier League is to vote on whether to propose to voluntarily phase out front-of-shirt gambling sponsorship.
A group of football fans in the UK has launched a petition that aims to collect more than a million signatures to call for an end to all gambling sponsorship in English football. The Footballers Supporters Against Gambling Adverts campaign is being led by recovering gambling addicts and families who have been affected by gambling-related suicide. Campaigns such as The Big Step have also made similar calls.
See also: Lincoln City’s Chris Maguire suspended for betting misconduct
