Football shirt betting sponsors soar

Football shirt advertising by betting companies has risen “dramatically” since legislation was relaxed, new research has found.

Researchers found 95 per cent of football shirt sponsorship deals with English clubs included in the study were struck since 2005 legislation was passed.

The researchers, from the University of Glasgow and Healthy Stadia, warned gambling was a public health issue with potential for harm and called on UK legislators and governing bodies of sport to urgently revisit the issue.

Glasgow academics analysed shirt sponsorship since the English Premier League’s inaugural season of 1992/93 to present day, and since the start of the Scottish Premier League in 1998/99.

The first gambling sponsor appeared on an EPL club shirt in 2002/03 and in the 2014/15 SPL season.

By the 2016/17 season, 50 per cent of the 20 EPL members carried gambling sponsorship on their shirts.

In contrast, only two of 12 SPL members had gambling sponsors on their shirts in 2016/17. Researchers noted the SPL received less global attention and less TV rights income.