Gambling sponsorship (12 Viewers)

[WillenhallSkyBlues]

Hi all,

not sure how many of you are aware but the gambling act white paper review has been put back once again, there is talk that the premier league will do a voluntary ban on gambling shirt sponsorship. Personally, I think that this should be filtered down to all leagues.

The big step are doing online petitions for all EFL teams with front of shirt gambling sponsor in order to go to the government with a list of how many people have signed petitions for each club.

If it’s something you agree with, then please can you sign this petition and maybe get your mates too.

This is not a protest petition against the club, it’s more to go to the government and say for example ‘345 Coventry city fans think there should be no front of shirt gambling sponsorship within their club’

I get this is not something everyone agrees with as some people don’t mind gambling sponsorship in football, but once again, if it’s something you don’t agree with then please sign for me.

Coventry City FC: Kick gambling ads out of football!

My name is Sean, I am a recovering gambling addict, I suffered for 14 years in the grips of the hands of gambling companies, taking every penny I earned and developing my behaviour into something that was not normal to those that knew me. This all started from my first bet, underage at the age...

you.38degrees.org.uk

Thanks, Sean

 

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[PUSB-We_are_going_up]

Potentially could extend it to other Championship forums, to get more fans involved?

 

[WillenhallSkyBlues]

Potentially could extend it to other Championship forums, to get more fans involved?

the big step itself are launching them all tomorrow on their website and hopefully will get a bit of media coverage

 

[napolimp]

Thanks for this. Many people know someone with a gambling addiction, and it can easily destroy lives. It's about time they were removed from shirts, there's no benefit and having children walking around advertising gambling companies is grotesque.

 

[Macca1987]

not wishing to get into an argument with anyone either way on this, but there are lots of people who also like a gamble and gamble responsibly. It has been said there is no benefit of having these gambling sponsors, but I'm sure the sponsorship money we get in from them is higher than what we would get from a estate agents or solicitors. I know it's not purely about the money, but over the last few years it has helped. I would vote to curb things if for instance you could have the choice of the name or not on your replica shirt, but again I can't see that happening

 

[napolimp]

not wishing to get into an argument with anyone either way on this, but there are lots of people who also like a gamble and gamble responsibly. It has been said there is no benefit of having these gambling sponsors, but I'm sure the sponsorship money we get in from them is higher than what we would get from a estate agents or solicitors. I know it's not purely about the money, but over the last few years it has helped. I would vote to curb things if for instance you could have the choice of the name or not on your replica shirt, but again I can't see that happening

Also certainly don't want to get into an argument, and respect your opinion, but I would actually say that most people I know who gamble don't do it responsibly. I think there's a fine line, and it's difficult to remain responsible when it comes to vices. At the end of the day the industry is designed to exploit.

Similarly, I actually find that a lot of people I know who drink don't actually do so responsibly, and will regularly exceed recommended limits. And of course, there's no such thing as smoking responsibly. I think you can gamble irresponsibly without building up huge amounts of debts, or creating significant issues in your life. It could take the form of strain on relationships, mood swings, and impact on finances even on small scale.

That aside, the serious issue when it comes to the marketing of gambling companies is the exposure to children, and the form that takes - in this instance the intrinsic link between gambling and their love of the game/their team.

 

[tskezz]

not wishing to get into an argument with anyone either way on this, but there are lots of people who also like a gamble and gamble responsibly. It has been said there is no benefit of having these gambling sponsors, but I'm sure the sponsorship money we get in from them is higher than what we would get from a estate agents or solicitors. I know it's not purely about the money, but over the last few years it has helped. I would vote to curb things if for instance you could have the choice of the name or not on your replica shirt, but again I can't see that happening

People that like to gamble and do it responsibly (myself included) don't need advertisements, by nature of responsibility they will bet on what they want to not what an advertisement tells them to. I'm not against a bookmaker on a shirt personally its more if they are then allowed to start targeting adds towards supporters, i think boyle sports started doing this via our official twitter straght after we partnered with them (though ive not saw that in a while). When you mix that with normal emotions of supporting a club and drinking at a game etc I can be dangerous for people.

Also on the money, i get your point but at least if its a blanket ban its not disadvantaging us from another team, unlike now us choosing a estate agent like you say would put us at a disadvantage to another club in the league with say betfair.

Not trying to argue by the way I understand your points this is just my take.

 

[Terry Gibson's perm]

Thanks for this. Many people know someone with a gambling addiction, and it can easily destroy lives. It's about time they were removed from shirts, there's no benefit and having children walking around advertising gambling companies is grotesque.

Children’s shirts don’t have the sponsor on.

 

[napolimp]

Children’s shirts don’t have the sponsor on.

That's a fair point, but my brother is 12 years old and wears an adult small.

 

[Liquid Gold]

not wishing to get into an argument with anyone either way on this, but there are lots of people who also like a gamble and gamble responsibly. It has been said there is no benefit of having these gambling sponsors, but I'm sure the sponsorship money we get in from them is higher than what we would get from a estate agents or solicitors. I know it's not purely about the money, but over the last few years it has helped. I would vote to curb things if for instance you could have the choice of the name or not on your replica shirt, but again I can't see that happening

I think the issue is people like you and me that might have the occasional flutter are not the target of those ads. We are just casual betters that don't provide the biggest return for the companies.

What they are doing is overloading people watching football with ads to attract those that have a problem with gambling to move from their competitor with better odds.

Gambling isn't going away and I don't think it should but they need to stop them shoving it down the throats of people that genuinely suffer from it. They managed to do it with booze and fags fine, gambling is next.

With regards to the financial competitive element, that's why it should be a blanket ban. Teams are obviously going to chase the biggest sponsor possible, if we all lose gambling sponsorships at the same time then nobody is at any disadvantage.

I'd get rid of crypto sponsorship while I'm at it too.

 

[Macca1987]

I think the issue is people like you and me that might have the occasional flutter are not the target of those ads. We are just casual betters that don't provide the biggest return for the companies.

What they are doing is overloading people watching football with ads to attract those that have a problem with gambling to move from their competitor with better odds.

Gambling isn't going away and I don't think it should but they need to stop them shoving it down the throats of people that genuinely suffer from it. They managed to do it with booze and fags fine, gambling is next.

With regards to the financial competitive element, that's why it should be a blanket ban. Teams are obviously going to chase the biggest sponsor possible, if we all lose gambling sponsorships at the same time then nobody is at any disadvantage.

I'd get rid of crypto sponsorship while I'm at it too.

Agree with you both, I'm not a twitter user or anything like that so only see gambling ads if I want to (i.e. going on a betting site) a blanket ban could make it work, but as you say that needs to come from the top, anything that levels the sponsorship debate gets my vote, saying that let's not go back to the days of Granada Bingo

 

[Liquid Gold]

Agree with you both, I'm not a twitter user or anything like that so only see gambling ads if I want to (i.e. going on a betting site) a blanket ban could make it work, but as you say that needs to come from the top, anything that levels the sponsorship debate gets my vote, saying that let's not go back to the days of Granada Bingo

But if you watch football on TV you have betting ads before the game and then both teams wearing betting companies on their shirts with betting advertising going around the outside of the pitch.

I can't imagine how difficult that is for people that struggle with gambling addictions and it needs to be legislated.

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

The companies thought nothing of exploiting me in my early 20s when I had a real problem with it and lost thousands upon thousands. Even now I still get what you could only describe as predatory emails and texts to try and get me back in. The TV and football advertising puts it in your face almost constantly and they know what they’re doing-most of their profit comes from problem gamblers or addicts.

Disappoints me we jumped straight onto it upon promotion and I don’t wear the shirt. If it’s really about fun they’d cap the wagers like they have at FOBTs.

 

[larry_david]

The companies thought nothing of exploiting me in my early 20s when I had a real problem with it and lost thousands upon thousands. Even now I still get what you could only describe as predatory emails and texts to try and get me back in. The TV and football advertising puts it in your face almost constantly and they know what they’re doing-most of their profit comes from problem gamblers or addicts.

Disappoints me we jumped straight onto it upon promotion and I don’t wear the shirt. If it’s really about fun they’d cap the wagers like they have at FOBTs.

When the fun stops, stop. Try stopping when you've blown £500 on Blackjack on your phone at 10Pm whilst you couldn't sleep, and just stopping knowing you've spunked £500 away out of boredom.

Gambling is addictive, I used to work in a betting shop for 7 years and it gets under your skin and hooks you in. I'm out now but still do £5 Accy every week, but god help me if I get on Blackjack again.

 

[larry_david]

Anyways having said that, seeing BoyleSports on our shirt hasnt made me get a Boylesports account. If anything they've stopped doing stuff for us when in the first season they would send Cov fans £10.00 free bets and stuff (I think)

 

[Nick]

But if you watch football on TV you have betting ads before the game and then both teams wearing betting companies on their shirts with betting advertising going around the outside of the pitch.

I can't imagine how difficult that is for people that struggle with gambling addictions and it needs to be legislated.

I think that the very targetted TV ads are much much worse than a logo on a shirt.

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

I think that the very targetted TV ads are much much worse than a logo on a shirt.

The money for that logo ultimately comes from people with a problem. That’s the issue I have

 

[Terry Gibson's perm]

Anyways having said that, seeing BoyleSports on our shirt hasnt made me get a Boylesports account. If anything they've stopped doing stuff for us when in the first season they would send Cov fans £10.00 free bets and stuff (I think)

I did but I only switched it from William Hill, I have worked out that I am just not very good at betting so haven’t bothered for ages.

 

[tskezz]

I think that the very targetted TV ads are much much worse than a logo on a shirt.

As has been mentioned though that logo on the shirt also means they target advertisements to fans on twitter and I'm sure other places. Not as in your face as the tv ads no but certainly more than a logo.

 

[Nick]

The money for that logo ultimately comes from people with a problem. That’s the issue I have

Not always the case. I use bet365, I am far from having a problem.

I think you could look into a lot of sponsors to see if people have issues. (Credit cards etc)

They need to start with the targetted ads on TV first, you watch a game on Sky and you have them shouting at you to bet now on the next scorer etc etc with the odds. The issue is going to be that Sky also have Sky Bet (which sponsor the football league and have their logo on every team's sleeve anyway).

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

Not always the case. I use bet365, I am far from having a problem.

I think you could look into a lot of sponsors to see if people have issues. (Credit cards etc)

They need to start with the targetted ads on TV first, you watch a game on Sky and you have them shouting at you to bet now on the next scorer etc etc with the odds. The issue is going to be that Sky also have Sky Bet (which sponsor the football league and have their logo on every team's sleeve anyway).

Most of the money bet365 make doesn’t come from people like you, it comes from the small % who can’t stop. I mean I lost about £4k on there in one go. Stoke have been funded for decades essentially by their owners feeding a habit.

The TV adverts need to stop and so does the sponsorship. Alternatively they could always cap it at something like a tenner. Because it’s about fun, of course

 

[napolimp]

I think you could look into a lot of sponsors to see if people have issues. (Credit cards etc)

Are you equating gambling to having a credit card?

 

[Nick]

Are you equating gambling to having a credit card?

Are you saying people don't have problems with credit cards, payday loans and other types of debt?

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

Are you saying people don't have problems with credit cards, payday loans and other types of debt?

Which teams are sponsored by those companies at the moment? I know Blackpool used to but can’t think of others.

 

[napolimp]

Are you saying people don't have problems with credit cards, payday loans and other types of debt?

Sometimes it's better to do some research on a subject, rather than just make comments. There's plenty of well made documentaries out their now that are worth a watch, the BBC has one on iPlayer called Gambling: A Game of Life and Death. Discussions are pretty meaningless if there's a lack of understanding on the issues.

 

[Nick]

Which teams are sponsored by those companies at the moment? I know Blackpool used to but can’t think of others.

Not as many as betting now, granted. Same with Newcastle not using Wonga.

 

[Nick]

Sometimes it's better to do some research on a subject, rather than just make comments. There's plenty of well made documentaries out their now that are worth a watch, the BBC has one on iPlayer called Gambling: A Game of Life and Death. Discussions are pretty meaningless if there's a lack of understanding on the issues.

Fair few on debt suicides too.

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

Not as many as betting now, granted. Same with Newcastle not using Wonga.

It was the same in the past with alcohol companies, but gambling now is surely the most common. I have no problem at all with drink but for someone who does the advertising and footy sponsorship may have been a real problem.

The companies know exactly what they’re doing and who to target, and it needs reining in. If you agree with that there’s no real debate to be had

 

[Nick]

It was the same in the past with alcohol companies, but gambling now is surely the most common. I have no problem at all with drink but for someone who does the advertising and footy sponsorship may have been a real problem.

The companies know exactly what they’re doing and who to target, and it needs reining in. If you agree with that there’s no real debate to be had

That's the thing, every club in the Football League has Sky Bet on it's shirt already. All over the programmes etc just by sponsoring the Leagues.

They aren't going to say "You can't have Boyle Sports" while still plastering Sky Bet everywhere.

Then there's the issue of telling Sky they can't advertise Sky Bet (and others) while live football is on.

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

That's the thing, every club in the Football League has Sky Bet on it's shirt already. All over the programmes etc just by sponsoring the Leagues.

They aren't going to say "You can't have Boyle Sports" while still plastering Sky Bet everywhere.

Then there's the issue of telling Sky they can't advertise Sky Bet (and others) while live football is on.

I thought Sky Bet was an unrelated company? Either way it should go too. Coca Cola were the first sponsors of the new set up and they were hardly a healthy choice either

 

[Nick]

I thought Sky Bet was an unrelated company? Either way it should go too. Coca Cola were the first sponsors of the new set up and they were hardly a healthy choice either

Well ideally yes.

No junk food either, no finance, no betting, no cigs, no beer.

I'd even go as far to say no energy companies too.

 

[napolimp]

Then there's the issue of telling Sky they can't advertise Sky Bet (and others) while live football is on.

Sky Bet aren't owned by Sky, they are owned by the company that own Betfair and Paddy Power. See above, what I said about discussions being pointless without an understanding of the facts.

Fair few on debt suicides too.

I don't think anyone is saying that debt isn't a problem, in fact many suicides from gambling could probably be attributed to debt - they are linked. This is a thread about gambling though, and I don't think there are any winners in an argument about what causes the most suicides.

 

[Nick]

Sky Bet aren't owned by Sky, they are owned by the company that own Betfair and Paddy Power. See above, what I said about discussions being pointless without an understanding of the facts.



I don't think anyone is saying that debt isn't a problem, in fact many suicides from gambling could probably be attributed to debt - they are linked. This is a thread about gambling though, and I don't think there are any winners in an argument about what causes the most suicides.

I can't remember saying who owned them?

It's useless having a discussion if you can't read what's said.

Sky would lose a fortune also.

 

[Liquid Gold]

Sky would lose a fortune also.

oh no

 

[Nick]

oh no

I don't care. I'm saying why it's not as easy as made out and a much bigger picture.