Campaigners ask Watford to drop gambling sponsorship with Stake
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A small group of campaigners gathered outside Vicarage Road stadium in a call for Watford to drop their sponsorship with online betting platform Stake.
Last week, the Hornets confirmed that a new multi-year partnership with Stake.com, a crypto casino and sports betting platform, was signed.
Stake will become the club’s primary shirt sponsor in 2021/22, as Watford returns to the Premier League.
However the deal has angered campaign group The Big Step, which aims to tackle gambling and sponsorship in football.
The group is branched of the charity Gambling with Lives, that was set up by bereaved family members and friends who lost loved ones to gambling-related suicide.
There are concerns that gambling is often glorified and prominent within football culture- whether it being from adverts or clubs actually being sponsored by betting groups.
To address their concerns, nine members of The Big Step gathered outside Vicarage Road on Wednesday (July 28) with a banner.
A member from The Big Step group said: “We campaign from our own lived experience of harm to protect future generations suffering like we did.
“That’s why we advocate for all gambling advertising and sponsorship to end in football, and we feel compelled to inform every club, their supporters and the public that this is normalising addictive products to a generation of young football fans.”
On Twitter, the group wrote: “We’re at @WatfordFC calling on them to ditch their new gambling sponsor.
“It’s our view that all gambling advertising in football should end, but this partnership feels particularly harmful - especially for a community driven Premier League club like Watford.”
This comes as the UK government is considering whether to ban gambling sponsorship in football as part of the Gambling Act review.
Financially, gambling sponsorship plays a vital role in keeping teams afloat, particularly as teams in lower reaches of the league or Championship can be offered more money by gambling firms than other types of brands.
For all clubs to drop a gambling sponsorship, there would be a risky revenue sacrifice at place for the sake of morals.
Watford FC were contacted for their views to the protest.
However after the initial partnership announcement, Watford FC Chairman & CEO Scott Duxbury, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Stake as our principal shirt sponsor ahead of the 2021/22 season. This will be an extremely exciting campaign for the club as we return to the Premier League and we couldn’t be happier to join with a partner who match our ambitious outlook and commitment to innovation in order to achieve success.”
Mladen Vuckovic, Stake.co.uk CEO said: “The past few years have seen consistent growth for Stake and this partnership with Watford marks the next chapter for our company.
"We could not be more thrilled to partner with a club that has such immense history yet still a true innovative spirit. We're committed to becoming a key part of the Watford family and have a number of exciting initiatives planned for fans over the coming months!”
