The issue of links between the gambling industry and football is a story that won’t go away and in one form or another has been making news regularly over the past decade or so. Be it changes to TV advertising regulations during games, stories of footballers being found gambling or, in particular, a focus on the number of teams with gambling businesses as their front-of-shirt sponsor, there always seems to be something in the news. What’s more, the stories are rarely, if ever, positive.
This makes a decision by Watford recently all the more interesting because whilst not everyone will agree, we think this is an excellent way forward. The Hertfordshire club have announced that they will be offering adult fans the chance to buy a replica kit that is virtually identical to the one worn by the players. Alternatively, however, they can buy the kit in a plain, unadorned, unsponsored form.
MrQ Is Watford’s New Sponsor
Via their official website, Watford let it be known that online betting brand MrQ would be their new shirt sponsor. This was said to be both a “long-term partnership” and also a “multi-year agreement”, though no specifics were given about the length of the arrangement. Thought to complete a hat-trick of vague statements about the deal it was said to be for the “2023/24 season and beyond”. So, that clears that up then.
MrQ replaced another betting firm, Stake, who sponsor Everton and had been the Hornets’ front-of-shirt sponsor for 2022/23 as well as the campaign prior to that. The unusually named Savvas Fellas, founder of MrQ, highlighted the fact that his company was a local one, saying, “Our business was built in St Albans and the people who have shaped it are Hertfordshire born and bred …”. St Albans is around 10 miles away from Watford but more importantly to many, the deal was described as “a record-breaking deal for an EFL club.” As such, one would have expected that fans of the Championship outfit would have been thrilled with the announcement.
Mixed Response
ℹ️ Watford FC and MrQ are delighted to announce a new long-term partnership, which will see the logo of the locally-based gambling company adorn the front of the club’s shirts. ????
Read more about our new principal partner. ⤵️
— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) June 15, 2023
However, this was not the case, with at least some fans seemingly unhappy with the deal. There are those that simply object to virtually all links between football and gambling. Their reasons for this stance may be ethical, personal or religious, with much overlap between the three but whatever the explanation, they just didn’t want their club to partner once again with a betting brand.
However, others explained on Twitter that they were dismayed at what they felt was a lack of inclusivity. There had been previous opposition to Stake’s sponsorship on the grounds that it excluded many from wearing the shirt. Watford, like most clubs in England, draws on a highly diverse fan base. It is safe to say that no ancient religious texts explicitly ban online gambling, or forbid followers of that religion from wearing football tops that have the brand name of a betting site on them.
That said, a number of religions do clearly speak against gambling, or certainly would view it negatively either due to the greed aspect, the fact that it sees one game due to the losses of others, or because it destroys truth, honesty, and wealth. If followers of these religions feel uncomfortable wearing a shirt with Stake, MrQ or any other gambling brand on it, then they are, to some extent at least, denied the full experience of being a supporter and cannot feel like one of the crowd.
How much merit this argument is seen to have is quite a personal matter. However, the club has, by all accounts, listened to some of the objections that were raised when they partnered with Stake and chose to offer the Watford kit without the MrQ branding, logo or name. Some cynics will no doubt question whether this was done out of a desire for inclusivity, or simply because it means they can sell more shirts. However, the decision seems to have gone down well with Watford fans and we would not be at all surprised to see other clubs follow suit in the future.
One potential issue is if such an arrangement meant the club’s income from sponsorship deals was reduced. Clearly a business, be they a betting site, car manufacturer or anything else, wants the maximum exposure for the millions they pay to feature on the front of a top football team’s playing kit. If large swathes of supporters instead prefer to opt for a plain kit, might prospective sponsors be prepared to pay less for the privilege of being the main front-of-shirt partner?
The fact that Watford’s deal with MrQ is a record agreement for a non-Premier League English side suggests this isn’t the case. Moreover, there are fairly sound reasons for this: chiefly that most of the exposure from being on the front of the shirt comes from fans around the world watching players on TV, rather than supporters wearing branded kits. Of course, if Watford sold virtually no MrQ-branded shirts, it might make businesses think twice but even then, the bigger issue is always going to be about the players on the pitch and the tens, or even hundreds of millions, watching them.
What About Children’s Tops?
What made Watford’s announcement so special is that, to the best of our knowledge, this was the first time a club was offering a sponsored version and a plain, unadorned version, of the same kit. As we shall explain shortly, this was not the first time a club had a sponsored playing kit without a sponsor, but rather the first time the same kit was produced with two options.
When it comes to children’s tops, since at least 2018 gambling sponsors have been banned from their shirts. This move was driven by the gambling industry via the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), in conjunction with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP). The UKGC stated that gambling companies had to ensure that “their logos or other promotional material” did not appear on “any commercial merchandising (eg replica shirts) which is designed for use by children”.
As such, Watford, like all other sides in the UK that are sponsored by betting firms, ensure that their children’s kits are plain, with no front-of-shirt sponsor. What is new at the Hornets, however, is that this is now also an option for adults. Be they football purists who just love the look of a “nude”, old-school top, anti-gambling advocates who dislike the industry in general, or people whose religion prohibits such activity, Watford fans can now opt for a plain replica kit.
Huddersfield & Paddy Power Seek to Save Our Shirt
As mentioned above, Watford’s “unsponsored” kit is not the first of its type. In 2019 Huddersfield and Paddy Power – a bookie rather well known for their out-there publicity stunts – announced a sponsorship deal that would see the West Yorkshire outfit play in a kit featuring a large sash with the bookmaker’s name. Town even wore the kit in a pre-season friendly, subsequently being fined as it breached league regulations about the size of the logo!
However, it soon transpired that the kit was a spoof. Rather than a terrible, garish shirt and an OTT bookie sponsorship, the Irish bookie was actually “unsponsoring” the Terriers as part of a “Save Our Shirt” campaign. Paddy’s official statement explained that they were asking all companies to end shirt sponsorship deals, including, of course, all betting firms. During the season of Paddy’s prank, 14 of 24 Championship sides had a betting company as their primary shirt sponsor.
Paddy’s statement explained that “As a sponsor, we know our place, and it’s not on your shirt.” They wanted other sponsors to fund clubs but agree to leave the shirts unadorned, a look that many older fans love for its clean, retro aesthetic. Paddy Power Managing Director, Victor Corcoran, added that whilst there was a place for sponsors within football, “the shirt should be sacred”.
We are sure that many supporters would love their club to offer a plain kit. Watford’s move is not necessarily motivated by a desire to give their so-called legacy fans the chance to rock the retro vibe but even so, it will be interesting to see if other clubs follow suit. Additionally, it will be fascinating to see how sponsors feel about such developments. Paddy’s Save Our Shirt SOS campaign did not exactly gain much traction but even so, we certainly would not be shocked to see more sides, especially those with even remotely controversial front-of-shirt sponsors, offering an unsponsored option.
Is Gambling Banned on Football Shirts?
Some fans may be scratching their heads at Watford’s new deal given there has been a lot of talk recently about a ban on gambling company sponsorship in football. So, what is going on and is there a ban, either now, or about to be introduced?
On 23rd April the Premier League announced that “clubs have … collectively agreed to withdraw gambling sponsorship from the front of clubs’ matchday shirts”. This made them the first sports competition in the United Kingdom to “take such a measure voluntarily in order to reduce gambling advertising” and came after consultation between the PL, the various clubs and the government.
Given this announcement, some Watford fans may well be questioning what exactly their club is doing. However, the Hornets hierarchy has not lost the plot and there are several reasons why their agreement with MrQ still makes sense. First, in order to allow clubs to transition away from gambling sponsorship and to plan for the future, the “ban” on such deals does not become effective until the end of the 2025/26 season. That’s how the Premier League phrase it, though we would argue it would be more accurate in many ways, though perhaps even less impressive than it already is, to say the start of the 2026/27 season.
Second, and rather obviously given the statement comes from the Premier League, it only applies to sides in the top tier of English football. Hopefully the Hornets will be back among the elite before then but this does perhaps explain why no specific information is given in relation to the length of the contract between the club and MrQ. So, unless the government introduces a law, or the EFL (who, of course, are themselves sponsored by a bookie!) decide to withdraw such arrangements, Championship teams, and those in lower divisions, will be free to continue wearing kits with gambling company logos on the front.
One final thing to mention with regards to the Premier League’s “huge” gesture, is that it currently applies solely to the main, front-of-shirt playing kits sponsor. So, even if and when the agreement comes into action, Premier League teams will still be able to have a bookie name or logo on their shirt sleeve. They will still have betting sites rotating on their electronic pitchside billboards and they will still have official betting partners. Some football clubs even have multiple partners, for example a UK betting partner and a global one!
As if that isn’t enough gambling sponsorship within a Premier League that has agreed not to have gambling endorsements, teams could even have training kits with a front-of-shirt gambling sponsor. So, in conclusion, we think it’s safe to say that gambling sponsorship isn’t currently banned and Watford’s arrangement with MrQ is very much in the clear. All you need to do now is decide whether you want to have the cool plain top or the one the players wear!