Asia-facing betting sponsors putting European football at risk: report
- Global Lottery Management System warns of dangers to integrity from widespread links to betting companies targeting Asian markets
- In English Premier League, half of the clubs had a betting sponsor on shirts, while six included Chinese characters, despite ban on online gambling in China
Rumours of a giant bet on Wigan Athletic’s relegation placed in the Philippines as a reason for the club’s plummet into administration put football’s relationship with Asian gambling markets back in the headlines last month, but a new report warns of a different danger.
Asia-facing gambling companies are a potential threat to the integrity of European football, according to a new report by the Global Lottery Management System (GLMS).
The transnational alliance of lotteries against sporting competition manipulation released A Study of Betting Operators and their Sponsorship of Sport to raise awareness on the “scope and scale of betting sponsorships”.
Clubs in the English Premier League and second-tier Championship in particular have developed strong ties with gambling companies as partners and sponsors in recent years. The scope of these deals ranges from league-wide to individual deals with clubs as main shirt and sleeves sponsor, advertising hoardings and matchday programmes to being official betting partners.
However, betting sponsorship has increased across the continent in the leagues they looked at, including the top flights in France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands.
