‘Incoherent’ Premier League gambling sponsor proposals ignore hoardings
Proposals by Premier League football clubs to give up gambling sponsors on team shirts have been criticised by campaigners as “incoherent” because they ignore more visible forms of advertising such as pitchside hoardings.
Clubs in the English top flight are understood to be close to agreeing a plan to ditch betting sponsors from shirts voluntarily, with the issue expected to go to a vote before June.
It comes amid a wider review of gambling laws by the government, which is expected to publish a white paper outlining its plans later this month.
Football clubs and the government are understood to be keen to avoid any hard restrictions on advertising in the white paper, preferring to address concerns over gambling’s visibility to young fans via voluntary measures.
The Premier League’s plans are thought to involve dropping sponsors on the front of team shirts but keeping gambling logos on shirt sleeves.
Current plans would also do nothing to rein in pitchside hoardings, where betting company logos are displayed on LED screens throughout games.
Pitchside adverts are the biggest conduit for gambling branding during a game, according to a study by academics at the University of Stirling, accounting for 38% of the locations where the sponsors are seen.
The study, of five matches broadcast live on television, found that the logos were visible more than 500 times during the average match.
A previous study found that the number could be as high as 700, although that research was conducted during the coronavirus pandemic, when adverts were often extended to cover areas where fans would have been sitting had they not been banned from live sporting events.
“Action on shirt sponsorship is a welcome and iconic acceptance of the harm caused by
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