Wembley Stadium, the English national stadium, and the NFL, the US National Football League, are both set to undergo heavy changes to the gambling advertising that has become a mainstay of the sports world in recent years.
Wembley Stadium
It was reported on Monday that the UK government will ban Wembley Stadium’s new owner from signing any new sponsors from the gambling world.The Government is currently in negotiations with Shahid Khan, the owner of Fulham Football Club, over the sale of the world famous sporting venue.The deal has several caveats for Khan, the £600 million he is reported to have offered will not buy Khan the right to rename the stadium until 2057, while permanent advertising for the NFL team that Khan owns, the Jacksonville Jaguars, is also prohibited as part of the deal, despite Khan’s reported intention to make the Jaguars a semi-permanent feature at the stadium through the NFL’s yearly London games.The Football Association (FA) had recently spoke out about the need to preserve Wembley’s role as the “home” of football in England, following on from the FA’s decision to scrap its sponsorship deal with bookmaker Ladbrokes last year, after a review deemed the deal inappropriate due to the nature of Ladbrokes’ business.
NFL Changes
It has been reported that the NFL has changed its mind with regards to teams accepting advertising from casino operators.While the changes are yet to have been announced officially, it is expected that they will allow teams and casino operators to use logos and branding as part of sponsorship deals, and stadiums would be permitted to enter naming rights deals.No in-gaming promotions would be around as part of the deal, but many feel this isn’t enough when it had looked like casino advertising would be, for the most part, banned throughout the NFL.