Elite English soccer authorities agree code of conduct on gambling sponsorship

The top soccer leagues in England have reached a collective, voluntary agreement on gambling sponsorship. 

A code of conduct has been agreed between the Premier League, Football Association (national governing body), English Football League (tiers 2-4) and Women’s Super League. 

The understanding was made public just hours after elite clubs were accused of “desperation” to lure cash, with 11 out of 20 Premier League clubs set to display gambling company logos as their front-of-shirt sponsor in the upcoming 2024/25 season. AFC Bournemouth is the latest club to endorse a betting firm on their jerseys after they revealed a “record-breaking” agreement with Asian betting outlet, bj88.

Aston Villa, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Everton, Fulham, Leicester, Nottingham Forest, Southampton, West Ham, and Wolves are the other top-flight clubs set to display a betting company logo on the front of their shirts in the stadiums and to broadcast audiences of millions around the world.

This remains a contentious issue in the UK, even after Premier League clubs agreed to phase out gambling shirt sponsorship by the end of next season, 2025/26. 

As part of the new code, the leagues have committed to four key principles underpinning the new framework: protection, social responsibility, reinvestment, and integrity. The bodies say they want to reduce the prospects of harm and children’s exposure to gambling activity, with a focus on responsibility.

Charity criticism of soccer’s relationship with gambling sponsorship

Looking ahead to the proposed end of gambling firms as primary shirt sponsors, the code states clubs should only enter into partnerships with companies which the Gambling Commission licenses. It also requests that family sections inside stadiums should not be adorned with gambling advertising or promotions

The Big Step, a charity which campaigns against overall gambling advertising in soccer said the clubs merely “sign these desperate deals for a few extra quid”.

In what is a tangled web, the Football League has SkyBet as the principal sponsor of its three leagues, – Championship, League One, League Two – a longstanding relationship that dates back to the 2013/14 campaign. However, the Football League insists the  partnership is “built around safer gambling, including a memorandum of understanding that sets out how to deliver joint objectives in a socially responsible way”.

Image credit: Everton FC/X