Shamrock Rovers Chairperson on choice of gambling company as main sponsor: ‘It wasn't a decision we took lightly’

The new League of Ireland season kicks off on Friday evening. Champions Shamrock Rovers welcome St. Patrick’s Athletic to Tallaght Stadium as they also welcome a new sponsor on their jersey for the first time in a league game.

The Hoops will have 888 Sport on their kit for the next two seasons – replacing JD Sports who didn’t renew their sponsorship after one year. FAI Cup holders Dundalk similarly have their jersey adorned with an online gaming company – the Lilywhites signed a one year deal to have BetRegal on their kit.

This is opposed to Bohemians whose main sponsor Des Kelly Interiors are faciliting the Gypsies third kit to be sponsored by Fontaines DC with 15% of the shirt sales going to the Focus Ireland homeless charity (although up to 2018 they had been sponsored by online casino Mr. Green). 

Recently the FAI decided not to go with a gambling sponsor as they seek a replacement to ‘Three’ as their main commercial partner. New FAI CEO Jonathan Hill noted “we debated the issues openly and in the end the board decided that it was not something the board wanted to pursue. We will not have a betting partner.”

Shamrock Rovers incoming Chairperson Ciaran Medlar, speaking with Sport for Business this week, noted that the Rovers board “was very aware of and gave consideration to who our [main sponsor] partner would be. 

“It wasn’t a decision we took lightly,” said Medlar who also lead’s BDO’s Sports Advisory Unit which advises sports professionals, clubs and National Governing Bodies.

“We felt 888 was a firm who were aligned to the ethos of safer gambling. We are aware that gambling addiction is a real challenge and affects many people. It is a responsibility for both us as a club and 888 Sport that we have to take very seriously. 

“We have to keep the awareness campaign front and centre in the partnership that we do have. Betting companies are active in the market and over 40% of the Premier League clubs have betting companies on their jersey.

“Like many businesses, it is a challenging time for the club. There is no revenue coming from games. Commercial partners are under pressure themselves. It is difficult to generate new commercial partnerships but we have managed to do that.”

The programme for Government, while doesn’t mention banning gambling sponsorship, does include the plan to ‘establish a gambling regulator focused on public safety and wellbeing, covering gambling online and in person, and the powers to regulate advertising, no wager casino sites and apps’. 

The Labour Party meanwhile last month launched draft legislation to ‘end the link between entertainment and betting by banning the advertisement of gambling’.  

Football was suspended due to COVID-19 back in March and when clubs returned to action in August it has continued behind closed doors. The League of Ireland clubs have budgeted for a season without fans but Medlar believes that supporters will get into stadia this year but he doesn’t expect full houses.

“It would be a bit ambitious to have full stadia before the end of this season. Everyone is planning on having no fans in the stadia. Maybe sometime in July or August you will have some fans going in with smaller crowds. 

“The English FA have announced 20,000 fans allowed for the FA Cup Final but they are a  bit further down the line than us. There are reasons to be optimistic that we will have bigger crowds by the end of the season. I don’t expect capacity perhaps but certainly half capacity.”

League Preview: Shamrock Rovers -v- St. Patrick's Athletic https://t.co/bjJBqaGpEopic.twitter.com/K8C2dEBrEk

— Extratime.com (@ExtratimeNews) March 18, 2021