Football clubs in Sheffield are amongst some of the only teams in the top divisions to not brandish a gambling sponsor on the front of their shirts.
Sheffield United have taken steps since being in the Premier League to not advertise the harmful practice of gambling on their shirts, and Sheffield Wednesday have not done this for a long time.
As shown in the graph below, when the Blades were last in the Premier League, over 50% of teams in England and Europe’s most watched division had gambling sponsors on the front of their shirts (with Sheffield United being one of them).
Since then, the club has distanced itself from promoting the use of gambling in football, choosing to promote a health sponsor, Randox, on their kits for the last two seasons.
As shown in this graph however, there is still an issue within English football this season, with 7 out of 20 teams in the Premier League still using gambling sponsors.
Below are graphs showing the decrease in the use of gambling sponsors in England’s second division over the last three years.
It is clear to see that steps are being taken to reduce their impact, however, many believe that more should be being done by those in power to further outlaw this.
James Grimes is the head of gambling charity, The Big Step, and calls on the government to implement legislation to ban the use of gambling advertisement in football – similar to how smoking and alcohol advertising was banned.
Mr Grimes said: “Gambling advertisement sponsorship has a huge impact on football fans especially young, I know from my own experience.
“It normalises gambling products and downplays the risks to young fans who think it’s safe.”
The Big Step have published figures showing that over 700 gambling logos appear during a single televised Premier League game – which contributes to 1 in 3 current gamblers participating in unplanned gambling due to the marketing.
Mr Grimes added: “If the government wants to end gambling sponsorship in football, the government should end gambling sponsorship in football. It shouldn’t rely on independent regulators.
“The reason football is getting an independent regulator is because it can’t be trusted to regulate itself and the same should apply for gambling.”
The Big Step’s website and help for gambling addiction can be found here.