Please note: This article was originally posted on 7th July and was reuploaded due to a server issue.
The Trust are disappointed to learn that the new shirt sponsorship deal is with BC.GAME, an organisation which profits from gambling.
As guided by our members, we have been opposed to the club benefiting from gambling advertising.
Whilst we understand the current financial climate the club are operating in, and their need to maximise income and funds for developing our club, this is not a route we would have wanted them to take.
It doesn’t feel like who LCFC are to have a gambling website on our shirts and seems to be another step away from our ‘well run family club’ reputation. We thought this was something our club would not want to be associated with.
We realise many of our fans will enjoy having a bet on various sporting events, but the dangers of gambling, when people overreach themselves in their spending, and when addiction takes a hold, are all too well known.
Gambling can destroy relationships, ruin the health of individuals and cause real financial crisis for some and, in turn, can cause costs for wider society. Gambling related harm can cause extra public spending through health costs, welfare and employment costs, additional benefit claims, housing costs and homelessness applications, and criminal justice costs.
With this in mind, having BC.GAME emblazoned across our shirts is not a path we would want the club to take and we would have appreciated the opportunity of having a discussion with them about this before they sealed the deal.
One of the real downsides is that this advertising will also appear on replica shirts. Thankfully, following Gambling advertising and sponsorship rules reminder for operators (gamblingcommission.gov.uk), the sponsorship advert should not appear on shirts designed for use by children.
Replica shirts for children aged under 14 are being sold by the club without the BC.GAME advert on the front of the shirt.
Adult sized shirts can also be purchased without the sponsors logo. This will presumably help the club comply with the Gambling Commission rules for young persons between 14 and 18 and also be welcomed by adults who do not wish to advertise a gambling website
The ability to purchase an adult shirt not displaying the BC.GAME on the front is not obvious at first glance on the clubs website, but can be viewed by clicking on the + sign on the description section when buying a shirt, then an option can be accessed which states to contact via shop@lcfc.co.uk quoting full name, delivery address and supporter number, before making an order.
Here are several organisations that provide guidance about gambling:
- GambleAware®: Gambling Help & Gambling Addiction
- Gordon Moody – Tackling Gambling Addiction
- National Gambling Clinic :: Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (cnwl.nhs.uk)
National Gambling Helpline provides trained advisers every day 24 hours a day and access to peer-to-peer support in chat rooms or forums. 0808 8020 133.