A joint statement has been issued by the EFL, Premier League, FA and Women’s Super League related to a new code of conduct surrounding gambling-related agreements.
The Code of Conduct for Gambling Related Agreements in Football covers four main areas, namely protection, social responsibility, reinvestment and integrity, with its implementation coming into place for the upcoming 2024/25 season.
Similar principle-based approaches to voluntary codes of conduct related to the matter are being produced by other sports too, as well as football.
Protection relates to that of children and other vulnerable persons, so that gambling sponsorship’s reach is limited for these groups; social responsibility looks at gambling sponsorship being promoted and delivered in a socially responsible way; reinvestment will see income from gambling sponsorship being invested in areas to benefit football fans and communities; while integrity relates to ensuring that gambling sponsorship does not affect the integrity of football competitions.
Gambling sponsorship in football has continued to grow in recent weeks, especially in the Premier League where a front-of-shirt gambling sponsor ban will come into force at the end of the 2025/26 season.
Just today, for example, operator Bj88 became the new front-of-shirt sponsor of AFC Bournemouth and in doing so meant that 11 teams currently have a gambling sponsor on front of their shirts in the Premier League for this coming season, joining the likes of Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Wolves.
In other legal news, the Charity Commission has concluded its investigation into GambleAware without issuing any criticism or findings against the organisation.
