Kieran Maguire reveals Aston Villa have ‘real problem’ after ‘speaking to director’
The mooted front-of-shirt gambling ban will likely widen the gap between ambitious clubs like Aston Villa and the so-called ‘Big Six’.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about Villa’s latest commercial foray into the gambling industry.
The club announced last Wednesday (11 August) that they have signed with cryptocurrency-based betting platform Duelbits.
The regional deal covers the European market and will see Duelbits branding displayed on pitch-side advertising boards at Villa Park.
News of the partnership comes just weeks after reports that a new ban on front-of-shirt gambling sponsorship is expected to be introduced soon.
Maguire assessed the effectiveness of a front-of-shirt ban if gambling branding will still be prominent via advertising on matchdays.
The spreadsheet expert also revealed that he had spoken to a high-profile director who had explained how the embargo could further skew power dynamics in the Premier League.
“If there is just a front-of-shirt ban, it is tokenism at best,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“There are much broader issues with problem gambling and associations with such a volatile product as Aston Villa are getting into bed with.
“The front-of-shirt ban isn’t addressing the real problem, in any case.
“Having a front-of-shirt ban could potentially make things worse because the ‘Big Six’ clubs don’t have front-of-shirt deals with these organisations. They go for global brands.
“Tie-ups with crypto and gambling reduces the gap between those big clubs and the rest. That why we are seeing those clubs be silent or ambivalent about the front-of-shirt ban because it has zero impact on them.
“I was talking to the director of a club that was in the Premier League recently and he said they can get £7m from crypto and gambling but only £1.5m elsewhere.
“Ultimately, it’s a legal product so you can understand where they are coming from.”
In other news, Everton make move to sign Ollie Watkins after Aston Villa source’s reveal.