West Ham United jersey sponsor update emerges with government to publish gambling white paper
West Ham are reportedly not likely to change their jersey or their front-of-shirt sponsor any time soon despite there being talks about a ban on gambling companies.
According to reliable London Stadium insiders Six Foot Two [21 March], the United Kingdom government are set to publish their gambling white paper soon.
It’s expected that they will not propose a ban on gambling sponsors of clubs and instead let the Premier League decide on changes that do not affect current arrangements.
Makes sense
If gambling sponsors are to be completely outlawed, then it’s not something that can be done overnight as it’ll require a lot of planning.
Clubs have multi-year arrangements with these companies and they should not feel the financial crunch for following the rules at the time they started them.
West Ham have one of the most lucrative sponsorships in the Premier League, according to their Chief Commercial Officer Karim Virani.
They’ve signed a £60million deal with Betway in 2019 until the end of the 2024/25 season and if the Premier League is to impose a ban, they will have to ensure all the contracts run their course while not allowing new ones to enter.
Betway may be a controversial sponsor and there even were talks about them paying a six-figure fine for what they did last season.
However, that did not happen but the sooner the game is away from gambling sponsors, the better it’ll be for the future of the sport.