The Government may impose a ban on offshore betting firms sponsoring UK football shirts

Ministers in the United Kingdom are on the final process of reforming gambling laws and are expected to unveil their proposals in the coming weeks, with an outright ban on betting company logos that appear on football shirts. The ministers aim at what they say is closing the “loophole” as part of gambling law reforms in the region.

Yan Zhylinski
Yan Zhylinski
The Government may impose a ban on offshore betting firms sponsoring UK football shirts

According to the ministers, the “loophole” allows offshore operators to advertise on Scottish and English football pitchside hoardings and teams’ shirts and according to them, they may soon pass a bill to scrap all of this as part of the plan by the government to reduce or minimize gambling’s hold on the game. This is something that offshore bookmakers fear will reduce part of their revenues.

The ministers are also heavily considering going beyond and above shirt sponsorships by going ahead and taking aim at the controversial “white label” system that overseas betting firms, especially those from Asia, China, and Thailand use to strike some of the most lucrative sponsorship deals. Such bookmakers can gain easy access to Scottish and English football via partnerships with small firms that hold a British Gambling license, a requirement for operators that want to advertise in the UK.

Ministers in the United Kingdom have raised concerns regarding the lack of transparency over who own the firms displayed on the shirts of almost all football clubs and how those companies undertake their operations. Currently, 9 of the 20 EPL clubs have betting firms as their shirt sponsors. Should the bill be passed, offshore bookmakers that sponsor teams’ shirt may be forced to look elsewhere for advertising. Even though everything appears calm right now, many –especially bookies that sponsor teams- are waiting to see if the bill will pass or not.

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