Football faces loss of gambling sponsors

Published on Friday 8 December 2006 12:20

SPONSORSHIP deals between online gambling companies and football clubs could be banned in the UK if it is decided that they encourage children to gamble.

The news comes after the Gambling Commission announced that it will investigate whether shirt sponsorship deals - such as those at Middlesbrough and Tottenham Hotspur - unfairly expose young fans to online casinos or gambling sites.

Companies such as 888 Holdings, 32 Red, Bet24 and Mansion are at risk of losing deals with Premiership clubs if a ban is brought in, while the clubs face being stripped of multi-million pound sponsorships.

According to marketing consultants Brand Rapport, online gambling interest has helped drive shirt sponsorship deals in Premiership football up by 25 per cent to around 70 million - with Spurs, Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough the main clubs to benefit.

The commission has said that the whole issue of football shirts would be examineds.

Ministers are also being put under pressure to prevent problem gambling and to stop gambling influencing children and vulnerable people.

Any sponsorship ban would be in line with the position taken in France, where representatives of Austrian gaming company Bwin were recently arrested and charged with illegal promotion of gambling after agreeing a sponsorship deal with Monaco FC.