Ban on gambling sponsorship ‘bigger impact than Covid’
THE expected ban on gambling firms sponsoring football shirts will have a bigger impact on Newcastle United than the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions.
That’s the view of football finance expert Kieran Maguire, who believes the Magpies are one of a number of Premier League clubs set to lose millions of pounds in commercial deals.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is increasingly likely to enforce a ban by the autumn due to rising fears over betting addiction in the UK, according to the Telegraph.
Newcastle are currently one of eight Premier League to be sponsored by betting firms, and their agreement with Fun88 was extended last July.
The expected government move has been described by the Sunday Times as the “biggest shake-up of advertising in professional sport since tobacco promotion was outlawed”.
The Covid-19 pandemic has had sweeping financial ramifications on professional football in the UK, and Price of Football podcast host Maguire previously estimated the restrictions has cost Newcastle the equivalent of two Premier League signings this season.
However, the University of Liverpool lecturer believes these heavy losses will not be too detrimental in the long-term, whereas the anticipated ban of gambling sponsorships on football shirts will leave a commercial void Premier League clubs will struggle to fill.
Maguire told the Chroncle: “We’re all hoping, post-vaccination, we’ll be back to full capacity stadiums. These restrictions shouldn’t really have a detrimental impact in the long term.
“A bigger impact will be if the Government bans gambling sponsorship and the consequence of that going forward. That is probably more important for football clubs than the 12-15 month disruption due to Covid.
“Fun88, W88 – these white-label gambling organisations don’t have a presence in the UK. What they are trying to do, given the Premier League is the mostwatched global team sport, is get some brand attention in Asia. That’s why they are prepared to pay a premium. A gambling company might be prepared between £6m-8m per year, and when I was talking to people in the commercial field, they say if it’s a non-gambling company we’re talking half the money.”
Having spoken with members of the Gambling Related Harm All-Party Parliamentary Group, Maguire has been given the impression it is a matter of when and not if a ban will be introduced.
This will lead to a loss of between £2m-4m each year for Premier League clubs deprived of their current agreements, and the timing of the expected decision during a pandemic means these clubs will be competing for investment in a depressed market.
Maguire said: “You have to say who else is interested in the main demographic of football fans watching the matches on television. It’s very much the TV viewing numbers which drives the value of deals. You’re looking at males with disposable income, what other companies will be willing to pay?
“We’ve already got American Express and Standard Chartered, but there’s a limited number of banks. Nothing from retail as that’s been hit more than football.
“There are relatively few companies with large cheque books to keep all 92 clubs occupied at the same level as the present if you take gambling away.”
Maguires believes several clubs are now prepared to take losses on new sponsorship agreements in the coming months before the change is enforced upon them.
Everton and Aston Villa are among the clubs who have already taken such pro-active steps, replacing former partners SportPesa and W88 respectively with deals with Cazoo.
Maguire added: “Some of the clubs I’ve spoken to have said they’re going to jump now because if we can get the £3m deal from a non-gambling sponsor this year, we might be able to tie them to a three or fouryear deal.”