Bookie shirt ban will not stop ‘problem gambling’

GAMBLING firms have hit back at proposals from the bosses of Ladbrokes and William hill to ban football shirt sponsorship, claiming such a move would ‘not stop problem gambling’.

Last night, 32Red remained defiant in the face of pressure from Britain’s biggest betting companies and said it would not pull its deals with five Championship clubs and Rangers.

They highlighted the community work they do alongside their contracts with clubs and said that while efforts to make gambling safer would be welcomed, banning shirt sponsorship was not the best way to achieve this.

Kenny Alexander, chief executive of GVC, which owns Ladbrokes, Coral and Gala, has this week called for an all- out ban on TV gambling advertising during sports broadcasts, except in horse racing.

he was also joined by William hill in agreeing to end shirt sponsorship deals with football clubs.

The measures prompted a backlash from other industry stakeholders, with one insider describing the proposals as ‘opportunistic’.

Aside from deals with League One sides Charlton Athletic and Sunderland, shirt sponsorship is not big business for GVC.

Some of GVC’s smaller rivals, which do not have high street betting shops and rely on shirt advertising to promote their brands, have interpreted the move as an attempt to eliminate competition from the market.

Meanwhile, Neil Banbury, general manager at 32Red, said: ‘We welcome any efforts to make gambling safer. But a blanket ban on sponsoring clubs will not stop problem gambling.’