Betting Sponsors to Be Banned in La Liga From 2021
The Spanish government have told all La Liga clubs that betting sponsors will be banned from the start of next season at the latest.
Currently teams are allowed to have betting companies as their shirt sponsors, such as Levante and Betway. However the Spanish government have decided to rule in favour of a bill to ban all such sponsorships going forward.
In a letter leaked by Spanish radio station COPE, the government warned that all clubs must cancel their contracts with gambling companies for advertisement at the earliest convenience, and at the latest by the end of the current season.
? Noticia @partidazocope
— El Partidazo de COPE (@partidazocope) October 28, 2020
? Carta del Gobierno a los equipos de @LaLiga: "En los próximos días se les obligará a retirar la publicidad de casas de apuestas"
? La gran mayoría de equipos están muy enfadados con esta decisión del Gobierno
? #PartidazoCOPE pic.twitter.com/UokSUzDboa
According to COPE, many clubs are very unhappy with this ruling, but it is one that has been in the pipeline for quite a while.
The government have made the move after studies revealed that there's been a surge in young people gambling in the country, and this has been blamed on the sheer volume of betting companies sponsoring club kits.
The league currently has seven different clubs that this will affect, with Betway sponsoringReal Betis, Levante and Alaves at the same time. Cadiz are sponsored by Dafabet, Granada are sponsored by Winamax, Sevilla are sponsored by Marathon Bet and Valencia are sponsored by Bwin.
With almost half the league now in need of new sponsors before the end of the season at the latest, there is likely to be a scramble come June for finances as clubs look to combat the COVID-19 pandemic as well as these new laws.
La Liga itself will also need to get rid of a sponsor, as they have an official partnership with gambling company Sportium.