Aston Villa 2023/24 home kit. Photo: Aston Villa
Aston Villa have been accused of a “silly” and “dangerous” new shirt sponsorship deal with controversial online betting company BK8.
Despite the pleas of fans and the promise of the Premier leagues to ban bookmakers as the club's main sponsor from 2026, Villa have agreed a three-year deal with the brand, which was previously shut down by Norwich City due to outrage over sexual ads featuring young women.
Villa said the partnership would create “an exciting collaboration together that will help grow as brands, especially in South East Asia,” but the announcement was greeted on Twitter by a member of the Birmingham City Council with a sick emoji.
” A really bad choice for a club to go back to gambling sponsors, but also with a misogynistic history,” said captain Nicky Brennan, representing Sparkhill ward. “Modern football is always about money when it should be about fans and society.”
Gary Lineker, former England captain and now host of the BBC Match of the Day, highlighted the Premier League's recent promise. “Think clubs weren't going to have gambling sponsors on t-shirts anymore?” he wrote, referring to the April announcement that from 2026-27 clubs will no longer advertise betting companies on their jerseys.
The new partnership was also condemned by the Gambling With Lives campaign group, which is a community of families who have lost loved ones to gambling-related suicide.
“It’s not only deaf, it’s also dangerous,” a spokesperson said. . “Every day in the UK, at least one person dies due to gambling. Fans, including children, should be able to watch or go to games without being bombarded with gambling ads.”
As the Telegraph Sport reported in January, Aston Villa's Fan Advisory Group had previously written to the club about an expected new partnership with BK8 that would replace Cazoo as the club's main sponsor. The Cazoo deal was supposed to net Villa £6m a year, but clubs such as West Ham United and Everton make around £10m a season from bookmakers.
“While we understand that gaming companies typically pay above average for sponsorship of Premier League shirts, given the club's promises, we feel that Aston Villa are not holding themselves to a high enough standard, especially when it comes to the ethics of sponsorship agreements,” fans said. Villa groups. The letter also questions whether this was an opportunistic move ahead of the government's delayed gambling reform white paper.
Norwich were forced to pull out of their deal with BK8 in the summer of 2021 due to outrage from fans and locals , pointing to YouTube ads, showed simulated sex with sausage.
The sponsorship deal between Norwich and BK8 was quickly terminated in 2021.
BK8 has since removed the ads, apologized and rebranded. Campaigners including England's match record holder Peter Shilton are calling for a complete ban on betting companies in football.
“It's everywhere,” said James Grimes, head of education at Gambling With Lives. “It's crazy that we're in this situation where he's ubiquitous.
“The government needs to really get this under control and stop all forms of football gambling advertising. Football will wash every penny out of this industry until it is no longer allowed to. This is a depressing reality.”
BK8, which will be branded on three Villa jerseys before the end of the 2025-2026 season, has pledged to make a local charity contribution for every third adult. lane that is sold. “This move builds on BK8's previous work over the past two years, working with charities and programs related to mental health awareness, and this initiative is the first of what will be a near collaboration with the club,” Aston Villa said in a statement. .
Michael Gatt, Managing Director of BK8 EMEA, emphasized his commitment to the local community.
“We will work tirelessly to make an impact in this area through a range of programs around the world. region, who interact with Villa supporters not only locally, but also globally,” Gatt said.
Recent Comments