Rangers could be impacted by new government proposals which reportedly plan to ban betting firms from sponsoring football shirts in the United Kingdom.
Only in May Rangers announced a “multi-year partnership extension” with gambling company 32Red and despite being lauded as “one of the longest running partnerships in British Football” this could be impacted by reported new proposals.
These concern a review into gambling laws which will see front-of-shirt gambling logos outlawed as per a “white paper” to be released this winter amid complaints regarding the impact of the sponsorship on fans.
That’s according to the Daily Mail, who claim the UK government are set to outlaw front-of-shirt betting company sponsorship as part of the changes.
They also claim new rules on pitch side hoardings and TV commercials are under consideration but a wider ban “is less likely at this stage”.
This would have a sizeable impact on the English Premier League with nine teams sporting front of shirt sponsorship with deals down south said to be worth up to £100m.
The review of the 2005 Gambling Act was launched by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in December 2020 and the outcome is to be released at the end of this year or in early 2022.
Whilst the Daily Mail article concentrates specifically on English sides any move could have an impact north of the border.
Both Rangers – 32 Red/Unibet – and Celtic – Dafabet – have front of shirt sponsors and any changes in the laws could have a direct impact on the Old Firm pair.
Rangers have previously lauded their relationship with the Gibraltar-based company with James Bisgrove describing it as the “largest sponsorship agreement” in the club’s history [Rangers].
Speaking of Ibrox sponsorship, read more regarding the fall out concerning allegations the Gers were involved in negotiations surrounding the name of Ibrox.
