sport news West Ham sponsor Betway are hit with £400,000 fine for breaching gambling rules trends now
West Ham's main sponsors Betway have been fined more than £400,000 for advertising on pages of the club’s website targeted at children.
Enquiries by the Gambling Commission uncovered that Betway’s logo, which linked to the bookies’ website, appeared on a section offering a chance to print a picture of a teddy bear for children to colour in.
The logo was displayed between April 14, 2020, and November 6, 2021. It was also found on the Young Hammers at Home page between October 24, 2021, and November 15, 2021.
Both adverts breached Gambling Commission rules requiring that all advertising must be socially responsible.
The Commission’s regulations also state that responsibility for where logos appear lies with betting companies, such as Betway, resulting in them receiving the £408,915 fine rather than West Ham.
A West Ham spokesperson said: ‘The Betway logo appeared on a web page on the West Ham United website containing content that was targeted at Under 18s. Upon identification, it was immediately removed.
Betway have been fined £400,000 for advertising a direct link to betting on a children's colouring page (the sponsor's logo is seen in the website banner but has since been removed)
Bubbles the mascot was depicted on the colouring page, alongside the Betway gambling links
‘The club’s new website, launched in March 2022, has robust systems in place to ensure a technical issue like this will not occur again.’
Betway’s sanction will provide further ammunition for those calling for a total ban on betting-related sponsorship in football.
However, eight Premier League clubs have betting companies as sponsors on the their shirts, training kit or areas of their grounds.
