UK ban on football gambling sponsorship looks likely
Sources close to British prime minister say he is in favour of a ban on shirt sponsorship.
UK.- A ban on gambling sponsorship in football appears to be on the cards as sources say prime minister Boris Johnson supports the proposal.
The Daily Telegraph has reported that sources “close to Downing Street” confirmed that Johnson’s senior cabinet was committed to making major reforms to British gambling legislation, including a ban on shirt sponsorship in football.
The UK government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has begun a review of the 2005 Gambling Act with several major reforms on the table.
Labour MP Carolyn Harris, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling-related Harm, said she was confident that a ban on sponsorship would be one of the ‘common-sense outcomes’ of the review.
Politicians from both houses have called for a ban on shirt sponsorship from the gaming industry.
It’s estimated that such a ban would leave a dent of £110m per year in the finances of Premier League and Championship clubs.
The English Football League wrote to the DCMS last year to highlight the historic importance of the relationship between sports and betting.
It warned that football clubs were already on a “financial knife-edge” due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Government considers sports rights levy for betting operators
The government has also informally discussed the option of imposing a ‘sports rights levy’ that betting operators would have to pay to sports governing bodies to make up for the loss of funding from sponsorship deals.
Previous attempts at such a levy were found to contravene European law, but there is a chance the idea could be resurrected following Brexit.
The DCMS has insisted that any reforms to gambling legislation “will be led by the evidence”.
However, the start of the review has already seen accusations and counter-accusations over false messages between anti-gambling campaigners and the industry.
The government intends to publish a white paper detailing its recommendations for the UK gambling sector by late summer or early autumn.
