Online Gambling Firms Face Football Red Card - 12-09-06
December 9 - It's been a tough year for online gambling to say the least and now the British Gambling Commission is investigating the legality of shirt sponsorship deals for English Premier League football clubs. All bets could be off for companies such as Mansion and 888 Holdings to continue sponsoring Premiership clubs like Spurs and Middlesbrough.
There are four premier league teams sponsored by online gambling companies: Aston Villa, who have a two-year deal with 32Red; Blackburn, who along with Leeds United are sponsored by Bet24; Tottenham, whose deal with Mansion was worth over $84 million; and Middlesbrough, who are in the final year of a big contract with 888.
The concern raised by the British Minister of sports is that children are exposed to this advertising as many of them purchase the kit of their favorite team. Naturally these shirts are branded with online gambling logos.
Earlier this year France arrested two executives of the Austrian sports betting giant BWin when they gave a press conference to announce a similar sponsorship deal with Monaco, one of the largest football clubs in the country.
One cannot help but feel that this is a petty response based on specious logic. Billboards which can be seen throughout every football game played around the world frequently show products that are unsuitable or illegal for children. Children watch these games on television so why should companies promoting alcohol consumption be allowed advertising space?
Double standards are once again being applied to the online gambling industry, but hey, there's nothing new with that - it's becoming a global epidemic in 2006.
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