The gambling industry is divided over whether sponsorship of match-day jerseys should be banned or heavily restricted in Australia, after action from some of the biggest sport clubs in the world.
Some companies support a total ban on jersey sponsorships, but won’t act until it is enforced. Others have already abandoned sponsorships, citing community concern, while some are resistant and believe the entire industry is now being punished because rivals have bombarded Australians with television ads.
The federal government, wagering giants and the NRL are examining the merits of the English Premier League’s (EPL) deal with all clubs to voluntarily phase out sponsorships on the front of match-day shirts from the end of the 2025-26 season.
Kai Cantwell, the new chief executive of Responsible Wagering Australia (RWA), the peak body that represents Sportsbet, PointsBet, bet365 and other companies, said change was inevitable and proposals were being considered by industry. Sources at companies not represented by RWA have also confirmed they would support a ban.
“We recognise further gambling advertising reform is necessary and have already commenced working with relevant media and sport organisations to ensure we can provide recommendations to government for evidence-based and sustainable reform,” Cantwell said.
But Mitch Reid, the head of regulation and compliance at Palmerbet, which sponsors the Newcastle Knights jersey, said the gambling industry was being unfairly criticised given it provides a significant source of revenue to sporting teams.
“I don’t believe that other industries who offer products that have the potential to cause harm, notably fast food and alcohol, receive the same level of condemnation when they have engaged in sponsorship of sporting teams and leagues,” Reid said.
“It would be remiss if it was not noted the amount of revenue the commonwealth and state governments in Australia are raising from the gambling industry and its importance to the funding of government infrastructure, grants and other initiatives.”
Tabcorp would support a ban on jersey sponsorship, but only if other companies are required to. The company has voluntarily committed to restricting television ads even if the government doesn’t require the same standard from other companies.
“We believe the primary issue is broader gambling advertising on free-to-air, which has become quite saturated at certain times in the year and certain hours of the day,” the Tabcorp chief executive, Adam Rytenskild, told a parliamentary inquiry into online gambling harm.
Last year, betting company Entain announced it would no longer sponsor the jerseys of professional sports teams in Australia, citing community concern. Entain runs the Ladbrokes and Neds brands, which was previously featured on jerseys worn by the Brisbane Broncos and Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
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The Australian Rugby League Commission chair, Peter V’landys, told Nine newspapers he was aware of the EPL deal but would wait for the inquiry’s final report before making a decision.
The committee’s chair, Labor MP Peta Murphy, said the inquiry’s final report would consider “what other jurisdictions have and are doing to reduce gambling harm”.
“It is clear that the concerns that the Australian public has about the promotion of gambling are shared by sport fans across the world,” Murphy said.
Adam Karg, an associate professor at Swinburne University of Technology who has been tracking gambling sponsorships, said the NRL has been comparatively slow to abandon gambling sponsors on jerseys.
“There has been a pretty consistent message from many fans that they didn’t like their teams’ exposure to gambling brands,” Karg said.
“In response, AFL clubs over the last decade have all removed team level gambling brands as partners. In short, they’ve done what the EPL clubs have been asked to do and self-regulated to a certain extent.”