Gambling firms will no longer be able to sponsor Premier League kits, but why?
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00:00 [MUSIC]
00:04 Premier League clubs are set to announce a groundbreaking change to kit sponsorships
00:08 with gambling firms likely to be outright banned from appearing on the front of shirts.
00:13 Hello there everybody, Adam Cleary 442 here and if something just looks
00:16 slightly wrong to you about this picture then well get used to it.
00:21 I mean obviously not really, Premier League clubs simply love money too much to ever allow it to get
00:26 to this point but the fact remains if the legislation they're planning on bringing in
00:30 was brought in right now this is how it would look.
00:33 And not just for Newcastle United but for nearly half of the entire league.
00:37 So what's actually happened?
00:39 Well nothing, yeah you're right but at a meeting on Thursday of this week the Premier League were
00:43 apparently voting on whether or not to ban gambling firms from advertising on the front
00:49 of Premier League kits.
00:50 Is that a big deal?
00:51 Well yes it's an enormous deal because if we just look at this beautiful graph here for a second
00:55 you can see 40% of the Premier League currently have a betting firm on the front of their shirt.
01:01 That's Bournemouth, Brentford, Everton, Fulham, Leeds, Newcastle, Southampton and West Ham
01:06 all potentially affected by this rule change.
01:09 Also just a quick one you've got Wolves, Tottenham, Liverpool and Brighton all sponsored by
01:13 financial services as well?
01:15 Pretty sure that's just gambling for rich people.
01:17 Not that I'd know but...
01:19 Now reports are that clubs would get around three years to finish their existing deals
01:23 and it's only a ban on the very front of the shirt not the sleeve part or the bottom of the back
01:28 or the top of the back which happens in some countries and looks really weird to me but
01:32 anyway I digress.
01:33 So it's not as dramatic as it necessarily sounds but still fairly significant given how prominent it is.
01:39 So the question is why are the Premier League doing that?
01:42 They get loads of money from these gambling firms why voluntarily agree to get rid of them?
01:47 Well the answer is twofold my friends.
01:49 First of all this comes after years and years of pressure from charities and anti-gambling groups
01:54 saying the Premier League needs to take more responsibility for the impact gambling has on society
01:59 and just stop featuring it as prominently.
02:02 And that's not exactly new because if you think back to the 90s it was alcohol that was the
02:05 predominant sponsor of Premier League shirts and over time the clubs have steadily moved away from that.
02:10 Not through any legislation or any official rule but they did at least see which way the wind was
02:14 blowing in regards to alcohol advertising.
02:16 It's got some of the strictest in the world in the UK so it was a case of well let's just not pursue
02:20 that as an avenue because sooner or later it'll bite us in the arse.
02:23 And they are probably due a little bit of credit for correctly reading the room on this one.
02:28 Like anti-gambling advertisement is unignorable these days and even pro-gambling advertisement
02:33 tends to carry a little disclaimer saying are you absolutely sure you want to gamble?
02:37 It could be pretty bad for you.
02:39 My favourite one personally is the ones that go hey use our betting app it comes with all these
02:43 great tools that will stop you using this betting app.
02:46 But the main reason they are bringing this in is it is a case of them jumping before they are
02:50 pushed by the government.
02:51 You see there is a major government report due in April of this year that looks on gambling
02:56 advertisements specifically in sport and what impact that's having on people.
02:59 And it's been repeatedly implied by the government that that report is likely to
03:03 recommend an outright ban on betting advertisement in the Premier League.
03:07 And ultimately because it would be government legislation there's not really anything the
03:11 Premier League would do about it.
03:12 Like don't get me wrong they'd be back and forth and there'd probably be a bit of compromise
03:15 they would try and reach an agreement together but if the government just turned around and
03:19 said look at the end of this season we don't care what contracts you've signed get rid of
03:24 all the gambling firms completely the Premier League would probably have to do it.
03:28 So this move by the Premier League is ultimately designed to do it on their terms rather than
03:33 have something they don't like imposed on them a few months down the line.
03:36 And that's why there is a three year grace period so they can see out all these contracts.
03:40 That's why it's only a ban on the front of the shirt and we still have it on the sleeves
03:43 so you can still work with these companies you can still get a bit of their money.
03:47 So while it's almost certainly not going as far as the government would probably recommend
03:51 it's still a good enough step that their view will be well we could come down on them really
03:54 hard we could go full scorched earth and get into a whole thing and then end up having
03:58 to compromise into pretty much this arrangement anyway or we can leave them to it because
04:03 you know they're going to sort it themselves.
04:04 But of course this does beg the question about what's going to happen to the Football League
04:08 because not only are the front of their shirts rife with betting companies but they have
04:13 several divisions that are literally sponsored by them.
04:16 I don't think it's too much of an exaggeration to say that betting firms are pretty much
04:20 propping up the entire football pyramids in this country so what are they going to replace
04:25 them with?
04:25 It's going to be crypto isn't it because that won't end in tears.
04:28 So there you go that is the Premier League's impending ban on gambling firms advertising
04:32 on the front of shirts explained nice and neatly for you.
04:35 I hope that cleared up.
04:36 Let us know what you make of this in the comments below.
04:38 Good idea, bad idea, all opinions welcome and of course don't forget to like, share
04:41 and subscribe.
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04:44 It helps us out a whole bunch.
04:45 Anyway until next time I've been Adam Cleary and I'll see you soon.