More than half the front-of shirt sponsors of English Premier League are gambling operators. AFC Bournemouth has entered into a partnership bj88, a sports betting company aimed at Asian customers.
On the front of their players’ shirts, 11 Premier League clubs now have gambling sponsors. Chelsea is the only club that has not yet confirmed its main sponsor for the 2024-25 campaign, which starts next month.
What is the bj88?
AFC Bournemouth will wear shirts with the logo bj88 this season. TGP Europe is the company that powers bj88, an unknown brand in UK. TGP Europe has been licensed by Great Britain’s Gambling Commission.
Bj88 is currently focusing on Asia but will soon be expanding into the UK. BJ-88.co.uk, the recently launched website in the UK, displays a message stating that a brand new casino and sportsbook will be made available “very shortly” to UK players. The Bj88 brand is also present in Latin America.
bj88, as part of its agreement with the club will donate money to various projects in the community. Brand will work together with AFC Bournemouth in order to encourage responsible gambling.
It isn’t the first time bj88 has sponsored sports. The company is also an official sponsor of Bologna, a team in Italy’s Serie A. It has worked with Kevin Pietersen as well.
AFC Bournemouth’s commercial director Rob Mitchell described the partnership as a club record.
He said that “their investment is going to be hugely significant in helping us compete both on the field and off,” in the Premier League.
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AFC Bournemouth will join Aston Villa and Brentford in 2024-25, as well as Crystal Palace, Everton Fulham Leicester Nottingham Forest Southampton West Ham Wolves, Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulam Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Fulham Ful
This massive influx of sponsorship is in spite of clubs agreeing last April to stop accepting gambling related sponsorships on matchday shirts. The ban will only be in effect for the season 2025-2026. As long as the deals are concluded before 2025-26, they can be done.
It appears that the impending ban is not having much of an impact on recent activity. Aston Villa Crystal Palace, and Wolves also agreed to similar shirts deals with Asia focused brands in recent weeks.
The teams will be allowed to continue working with the gambling operators through other means, including official partnership and branding around stadiums and training gear. Last season, Wolves featured LeoVegas on its front training shirt.
In this context, this week the Premier League joined other UK sports bodies to issue new codes of conduct that are’socially-responsible’ for sponsorships involving gambling in order to protect viewers who may be vulnerable.
The Premier League, English Football League (EFL), Football Association, and Women’s Super League have all agreed on a code of conduct that focuses primarily on football. The code covers the gambling sponsorships in English football as described in the gambling whitepaper of government.
The codes will come into effect at the beginning of 2024-25 and they are based on four main areas: Protection, Social Responsibility, Reinvestment, and Integrity.
