Sportsbook advertising has its days numbered in Spanish football. This is what Alberto Garzón, Minister of Consumer Affairs, wanted to make clear in an interview on the program Al Rojo Vivo on La Sexta. Last July, the ministry made the latest draft on the decree on the advertising regulation of games of chance, which was more forceful than the one presented in February, and that limited any type of betting house advertising to a schedule from 1:00 to 5:00 in the morning in addition to banning their appearance on the shirts of the teams and their stadiums.
Today, in the aforementioned interview, Alberto Garzón has reiterated that with the new law the paradigm of advertising in football will change. “Sportsbook advertising on T-shirts to be banned. When a person is an idol of young people and wears on his shirt a brand from a betting house, he is inciting a type of consumption that can be compulsive and that can lead to very big problems. “In addition, the minister has shown their misunderstanding with the clubs that are ignoring and have renewed their sponsorships with this type of advertising. “There are clubs that he is renewing for two and three years with bookmakers, It is reckless, they are radically wrong and they will have to correct it because the law is the law“.
The law will be passed and it will come into force next October so it will fully affect the new season that is about to begin in Spanish football. “I ask the football teams to understand it and to get ahead of the eventsDo not stress more because this is inevitable, sponsorships on t-shirts will be prohibited “.
This law will directly affect First and Second division clubs assuming an economic setback of 80 million euros. In the Santander League this last season the only teams that have not had a sponsor related to betting are the Real Sociedad, Valladoid and VillarrealIn addition, Alavés, Granada, Leganés, Levante, Malorca, Osasuna, Sevilla and Valencian have worn this advertising on their shirts. Some clubs like Osasuna have already changed sponsor facing the next seasons, but others, as Garzón indicated, they still maintain these sponsorships.
Keep in mind the new law will not only prohibit appearance on shirts and in stadiums, but will also prohibit lThe brand of a bookmaker is used as a name in any sports facility or high performance center, something that has already been considered at some time in Spain. Nor may the name of a club or a competition be modified to include sports sponsorship in it.