FA Ends Sponsorship Ties with Betting Companies

Joey Barton – express.co.uk

Following the18 month ban of Burnley star, Joey Barton, due to him placing 1260 bets amounting to a total stake of £205.172.79 (and losing a total of £16,708.29) plus various other recent controversies within the sport; the Football Association has announced that it is to end all commercial agreements with betting companies, including Ladbrokes (who’s sponsorship is estimated to be worth around £4million per year).

The FA have stated that the decision is not in direct response to the situation with Barton, but rather a decision following three months of review. During investigations, it emerged that 53 footballers have been reported over potential breaches of betting rules, and there could be many more, as the figures reported relate only to those players who use their own name and details (not the names of friends etc).

In previous ruling, players had been prohibited from betting on a match ‘in which they were involved or could influence’, however, this was followed in August 2014 with a simpler message in updated ruling – ‘In order to protect the integrity of the game, worldwide, a player or manager cannot bet at all on any football related activity’.

At the board meeting in May it was agreed that “The FA would end all sponsorships with betting companies starting from the end of the 2016-17 season,” the FA said in a recent statement, adding “The decision was made following a three-month review of The FA’s approach to it, as a governing body taking betting sponsorship whilst being responsible for the regulation of sports betting within the sport’s rules. As a consequence, The FA has mutually agreed with Ladbrokes that its current partnership will be terminated from June 2017.”

The FA has been criticized regarding bans due to the heavy advertising of sponsors.

Barton insisted that, “If football’s governing body is truly serious about tackling the culture of gambling in football, it needs to look at its own dependence on the gambling companies, their role in football and in sports broadcasting, rather than just blaming the players who place a bet.”

It looks like his message has been received loud and clear.

What will the fans make of this new policy? As football is the most popular betting sport in UK and Europe, will they appreciate the FA’s decision and will the English Premier League follow suit? Last season 11 Premier League teams sported betting company logos on their shirts, and Sky Bet are title sponsors of the Football League.

For the FA, however, there appear to be no hard feelings. Jim Mullen, CEO of Ladbrokes Coral, has stated that they “understand The FA’s decision regarding their commercial partnerships on gambling.” The FA has indicated that they will continue to work with betting companies, including online betting operators like sportingbet, in information sharing schemes regarding suspect betting patterns, and chief executive of the Football Association, Martin Glenn, has thanked Ladbrokes for “both being a valued partner over the last year and for their professionalism and understanding about (our) change of policy around gambling.”

The impact of such changes will, no doubt, be revealed over the coming months and it remains to be seen whether there will be increased pressure to limit the promotion of gambling on a larger scale.

By Anouk