BGC, major UK sports bodies agree on new betting sponsorship codes of conduct

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has expressed its support for the newly established Codes of Conduct for Gambling Related Agreements introduced by several major sporting bodies. The codes aim to raise standards for sports sponsorship deals.

The BGC has worked alongside national sports bodies including the Premier League, English Football League, The FA, Women's Super League, Rugby Football League, and British Horseracing Authority, plus official bodies representing darts, snooker, and boxing, to develop "a cross-industry voluntary code of conduct for betting sponsorship deals, with each body producing a specific code for their own sport."

This new framework, created by the BGC to drive up standards, sets new standards for safer gambling sponsorship across four key principles of protection, social responsibility, reinvestment, and integrity:

Protection  of children and young people:

Gambling sponsorship must be specifically designed to limit its reach and promotion to those under the age of 18 and those at risk of gambling-related harm.

Social responsibility:

Gambling sponsorship must be promoted and delivered in a socially responsible way. This includes ensuring that education and awareness messages are provided as part of all marketing activities.

Reinvestment  into sport:

The commercial income raised from gambling sponsorship must be reinvested back into infrastructure and programs that serve fans and communities. This includes investment in improving infrastructure and providing community and grassroots participation opportunities for local communities.

Maintaining sporting integrity:

Gambling sponsorship must not compromise the integrity of sporting competitions nor harm the welfare of those participants who take part in them.

"The EFL, Premier League, The FA, and Women's Super League have already announced that they have formally agreed to adopt the new Code of Conduct for Gambling Related Agreements in football ahead of the new season, as has the British Horseracing Authority. We expect further sporting bodies to publish shortly," the Council announced.

According to the BGC, this code has "huge practical implications" for sports sponsorship. For football, that includes ensuring the design of betting sponsorship limits reach to children and those at risk of harm, ensuring professional footballers are aware of available support services, and making sure club social media accounts do not include links to betting operator websites.

Clubs will now also ensure that "a reasonable and proportionate portion" of gambling sponsorship assets promotes safer gambling messaging, which may include perimeter boards and match day programs.

For horse racing, the new code will ensure that betting promotions are not directly targeted at U18 and that appropriate age-awareness arrangements are applied on the course.

Michael Dugher, BGC Chair, said: "I welcome the publication of these landmark codes that BGC has led on, which sets new standards for sports. These new measures are good for sport, good for BGC members, and good for fans. BGC members are proud to support some of the most popular sports up and down the country, and that support goes hand in hand with these principles.

"That includes protecting the young, being socially responsible, delivering investment in communities, particularly working-class communities which share such close ties to these sports, and maintaining the sporting integrity which makes British clubs the best in the world.

According to Dugher, these codes will be "a big step forward" and are something the BGC has been working on "for many years, long before the white paper." He described them as "the latest in a long list of measures the BGC has launched to raise standards," including betting operators' logos being removed from children's clothing and a whistle-to-whistle ban that has reduced the number of TV betting commercials viewed by children during live sports before the watershed by 97%.

"BGC members are committed to safer gambling and signposting available support regularly and prominently, while our largest members helped deliver a record donation of £172 million to tackle gambling harm between 2019 and 2024. When we say we are raising standards, we mean business, and this is further concrete evidence of that determination," he added.

As per BGC, its members provide some of the country's most popular sports with vital funding, from the grassroots to the elite level. The Sky Bet sponsored the English Football League and its clubs receive £40 million ($51.1 million), William Hill sponsors the Scottish Professional Football League, while a host of other BGC members from Betway to Kindred are supporting football and other sports.

Meanwhile, horse racing receives £350 million ($447 million), and snooker, darts, and rugby league – which is currently sponsored by Betfred - receive more than £12.5 million ($16.2 million).

Meanwhile, BGC member Entain's Pitching In sponsors the Trident League – 250 clubs at steps three and four of the English football pyramid – boosting grassroots football. And Flutter has invested millions into a huge range of community sports through its Cash4Clubs scheme.