A clutch of clubs in both the English Football League ( EFL ) and non-league are calling on the Government to ban all gambling advertising within football.
Twenty clubs, including the likes of Luton Town, Tranmere Rovers and Forest Green Rovers, have sent a letter to Government calling for an end to gambling sponsorship to try and "challenge the notion that football is dependent on gambling advertising revenues".
The letter, coordinated by the Gambling With Lives campaign group, says: "As owners, directors, and executives responsible for our clubs, we have witnessed the harmful growth of gambling sponsorship and advertising in football, including the negative impact on our fans.
"A ban on gambling logos on shirts would be a significant acceptance of the harm caused, but we would encourage you to include all gambling advertising in stadiums and competition sponsorship so every young fan can go to any football match - home and away - free of inducements to gamble."
A number of clubs in the EFL have gambling firms as their principal shirt sponsor. Derby County and Middlesbrough are both sponsored by 32Red whilst Birmingham City and Coventry City have Boyle Sports adorning the front of their shirts. Indeed, the EFL's sponsor is a betting firm, Skybet.
Ministers are currently reviewing gambling laws and are due to publish their proposed reforms later this month, with a ban on betting companies being front-of-shirt sponsors one of the options. The letter, whose signatories also include non-league sides such as Chippenham Town and Dulwich Hamlet, adds: "As trusted hubs of our community, we have a social and ethical responsibility to our young fans and wider fanbase to create the safest possible environment to watch their heroes. This is not compatible with something that causes more than 400 suicides every year in England alone.
"There is overwhelming consensus about the harm caused by gambling marketing, with the betting industry themselves even offering a voluntary whistle-to-whistle ban on TV advertising during live games. Sadly, measures like this are relatively ineffective as it is still virtually impossible to watch a football league game in the UK without seeing a gambling advert, with one Premier League game containing 700.
"It seems clear to us that our fans, the players and the public support our stance, with the only barrier seemingly being the financial impact on clubs. This is why we are writing to you today – we want to challenge the notion that football is dependent on gambling advertising revenues. As clubs without these partnerships, we can say categorically that we evidently do not need them. We have managed to source other forms of sponsorship and have attracted partnerships because of our socially responsible stance on this issue."
Last year former Arsenal and England midfielder Paul Merson made a BBC documentary looking at football's relationship with gambling.
After it aired, he said it "sickens" him seeing former players and managers in gambling adverts. "I see people in adverts and they are rich," Merson said. "I could understand it if they were a League One or League Two player and had not earned much from the game, but the people doing the adverts are multi-millionaires. Do they need the money? Do you need that extra £50,000? It sickens me."
