Everton branded ‘deaf of ears’ after announcing gaming company as their new shirt sponsor
Everton have been branded ‘deaf of ears’ after announcing a gambling company would be their new shirt sponsor… with a £10m-a-year Stake.com contract announced despite government proposals to prohibit such transactions
Everton have been branded ‘deaf of ears’ after announcing a gambling company as their new shirt sponsor.
The Toffees have signed a club record deal with Stake.com worth over £10million a year.
This is despite a ban on including Premier League game shirt sponsors in a draft government white paper, which is due to be published later this month.
Everton will be sponsored by Stake.com next season after the betting company replaces Cazoo
The Toffees announced the deal, worth £10million per season, on Thursday
“Gambling sponsorship is unpopular, unhealthy and on its way out of football. So for Everton to announce this partnership now is extremely tone deaf,’ said James Grimes, founder of campaign group The Big Step.
Government sources have also described Everton’s decision as a “strategic mistake”, as they prepare to announce gaming industry reform plans.
The announcement comes just two years after Everton chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale told the club’s general meeting that ‘in an ideal world’ they would prefer a ‘different type of sponsor’ to a company from Paris.
It came amid concerns that betting companies were not doing enough to mitigate the social cost of gambling amid the proliferation of betting advertisements and sponsorship in English football.
The Toffees were sponsored by Kenyan betting company Sportpesa between May 2017 and May 2020, but that £7m-a-year deal was terminated two years earlier following a strategic review of the club’s business operations .
They turned down a two-year partnership extension with Cazoo in search of a more lucrative deal.
Everton chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale said in 2020 that “in an ideal world” the club would no longer associate with gambling companies.
The Goodison Park club narrowly avoided relegation from the Premier League in 2021-22
Everton’s trade deals have been affected by sanctions imposed on USM owner Alisher Usmanov following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year.
The club have suspended sponsorship deals with Russian companies USM, Megafon and Yota with immediate effect.
A statement from the club read: “Everton Football Club have confirmed a club record senior partner agreement with Stake.com.
“The multi-year partnership with the leading casino and sports betting platform will begin on July 1 and is the most beneficial shirt front deal in the Club’s 144-year history.
“As Everton’s Premier Partner, the Stake.com brand will feature on the front of men’s and women’s game shirts, as well as on screens and media backdrops at Goodison Park and Finch Farm and on the digital platforms of the club.”