Will the Bookies continue to win?

Merson. Barton. Townsend. Gudjohnsen. All household names - but perhaps for the wrong reasons. These are just a few of the footballers who have been brave enough to admit how much their gambling addiction has cost them. But with the PFA publishing that over 40% of professional footballers end up bankrupt, these players are far from alone.

You would assume that society would have learnt from the cigarette and alcohol sponsorships that consumed most of the 70’s and 80’s, but turning on the television on a Saturday to watch the 32Red derby in the SkyBet Championship would tell you that this is far from the case. (Perhaps most concerning about that sentence is that the derby could be between 3 different teams in the division).

So why have gambling sponsorships flourished in a society that is so deeply affected by it? I will be delving into the numbers behind the game to see why the gambling sponsorships are so prevalent, whether clubs can sustain their financial health without it (using the rest of Europe as an example) and if, in 20 years’ time, we will look back at these sponsors in the same bewilderment as when we think of the endless alcohol promotion in decades gone by.

Gambling sponsors in the UK

As all those interested in the numbers behind the game will tell you, football clubs are fortunate enough to be able to generate income from 3 different streams, those being:

- Broadcasting,

- Commercial, and

- Matchday

With matchday income temporarily frozen and the broadcasters set to discuss the new TV rights deal for the league, the spotlight in the British media has since (and rightly so) shifted to the commercial element in English football, with eyebrows particularly raised at the endless promotion of gambling in the media. Out of the 44 teams in English football’s Premier League and Championship, an astonishing 46% of shirt sponsors were related to the gambling industry. The next highest was the financial sector, accounting for just 16%.

Bizarrely, the gambling sponsors do not seem to offer greater sums of money in comparison to the other companies. Excluding the traditional big 6 (whose sponsorship deals blow the remaining 14 clubs out of the water), the average income from gambling sponsors in the Premier League is £6.44m, marginally greater than the non-gambling sponsors who have paid an average of £6.08m for the 2020/21 campaign. The football romantics will therefore suggest that is why, of the 44 clubs in EFL Leagues One and Two, there is just one shirt sponsor that is associated with the gambling industry.

In truth however, an industry which generated a GGY (Gross Gambling Yield - essentially the earnings less pay-outs for gambling companies) of £14.2bn in 2019 would have no qualms in sponsoring these two divisions (UK Gambling Commission, 2020). The brand exposure generated in these divisions is simply not cost-effective enough to be deemed worth it - thus inviting charities and local businesses to join the shirt sponsorship party instead.

Comparison to the first Premier League season

Looking back to the inaugural season of the Premier League certainly makes for interesting reading. Alcohol manufacturers and (modern-day) struggling technology companies appeared to be the craze among the shirt sponsorships that year, with 4 of the then 22 clubs opting to fuel the British drinking culture on their shirts (extra credit goes to Nottingham Forest for choosing two different breweries for their home and away kits). In fact, it was only as recent as 2017 for the last Premier League club to trade a cheaper pint for greater morality.

If you are beginning to question what the big deal is with alcohol sponsorships, please consider the following. Paul Gascoigne, arguably the most talented individual to pull on the shirt of the 3 Lions, played for Newcastle, Tottenham Hotspur, Lazio and Rangers from 1984 to 1998 – there was an alcohol sponsor tattooed to his torso in each of the 10 seasons that he spent at these 3 British clubs. For a life so scarred by alcoholism; that statement is rather sad to think about. The only question we really need to ask is why it took so long for action to be taken.

Gambling in Europe

While the rest of Europe also seem to enjoy a €5 accumulator on the weekend, based on their shirt sponsorships it is promoted to a far lesser degree. Of the 86 shirt sponsors across the top divisions in Spain, Germany, Italy and France (with some clubs allowed two or more sponsors on their shirt), only 8% are related to gambling. It is worth noting however that the promotion of alcoholic beverages remains rife in Europe (particularly in Spain and Italy), meaning 15% of all shirt sponsors are companies nudging customers to take a punt or have a pint.

It is clear that regulation needs to do more – and so it is. In 2020, the Spanish Government approved of a Royal Decree that states that clubs can no longer be sponsored by betting companies, in any capacity, from the beginning of the 2021/2022 season. With 7 clubs in La Liga currently involved in shirt sponsorship deals with betting companies, and a total of 30 of the 42 clubs in Spain’s top two divisions having official betting partners (Martin, 2021), this is a drastic change which will hopefully be followed elsewhere in Europe. A similar stance was also taken by the Italian government in 2019, although it is yet to be confirmed if financial implications caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may result in a U-turn with this decision.

Exposure to gambling sites

Through research conducted by Gambling With Lives, it is estimated that between 250 and 650 suicides in the UK are driven by a gambling addiction – a damning statistic when coupled with the estimate that a further 2 million people are harmed by the repercussions of ‘problem’ or ‘disordered’ gamblers. It is for this reason that, even if the UK government were to adopt these methods from their peers in the continent, solely removing gambling shirt sponsorships deals will barely scratch the surface for actions that need to be taken. There is simply too much exposure for gambling sites in the British media.

This is perhaps most evident by the following tweet put out by the official Arsenal account prior to their match against Southampton earlier this year:

The irresponsibility displayed by a football club with more than 17 million followers (most of whom are impressionable young people with limited savings or quick access to their parents’ debit cards) is laughable, and what’s most concerning is that the Gunners are not the only club to do this. It was only due to public outrage did Tottenham Hotspur stop including a link to William Hill in each of their starting line-up announcements.

SkyBet’s sponsorship of the three divisions in the EFL, as well as the endless television adverts are just further examples that the promotion of gambling in the UK has gone too far. There is not enough protection for those vulnerable to the bookies. Placing ‘Be Gamble Aware’ on the top right corner of each advert may tick off a moral checkbox for these companies, but it is embarrassing and ingenuine, especially when you consider that the same companies are flooding your inbox every couple of days instructing you to claim a free bet before the 3pm kick-offs.

Unfortunately, removing the ability of gambling sites to sponsor football, be that on shirts, as official gambling partners, or otherwise is wishful thinking. You only need to look at the promotion of the previous taboo pastime that was in the media for the same reason.

We may have moved on from the days of Carlsberg, Holsten and Carling being plastered on football shirts, but if a recovering alcoholic was to watch one match of the Champions League or World Cup you could forgive them for inevitable craving a Heineken or Budweiser. Long-standing sponsorships such as these have been able to convince many that the only way to watch the next 90 minutes of football is with a beer in your hand, and with Jeff Stelling and Jose Mourinho doing the devil’s work for the gambling industry, needless to say that millions will treat it as gospel.

The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us all that nothing is more important to the future of the game than the fans. And it is the industry’s job to protect them. With the UK government set to discuss the future of the gambling industry over the coming weeks, let’s hope the right conclusion is made for the livelihoods of millions. There’s a lot at stake.

References:

UK Gambling Commission. (2021) 'Industry Specifics - November 2020', Available at: https://beta.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/statistics-and-research/publication/industry-statistics-november-2020

Martin, R. (2021) 'Analysis: Gambling sponsor ban adds to Spanish clubs' pain', Available at: https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-spain-gambling-analysis-idUKKBN2AN1TY