Kieran Maguire: Everton ‘need cash now’ as controversial U-turn analysed
Everton “need cash and need it now” and therefore feel they have no choice but to be in league with a company that promotes “irresponsible gambling”.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the latest update on the Toffees’ controversial deal with Stake.com.
The online cryptocurrency-based betting brand partnered with Everton in a club-record front-of-shirt deal in June.
Stake attracted criticism recently when they used the Merseysiders’ branding in a promotion which promised a $10 reward to punters who staked $5,000 within the space of a week.
As relayed by The Guardian last Monday (29 August), Everton have now asked Stake to remove their branding from the marketing campaign.
Chief executive Denise Barret-Baxendale has previously stated that “in an ideal world” the club would not be partnered with a bookmaker.
But they have U-turned on this stance against the backdrop of Financial Fair Play concerns, with the club having lost over £370million within the last three years alone.
Maguire explains that Everton are attempting to justify their involvement with Stake because of these financial concerns.
“Everton’s deal with Stake.com has provoked concerns from a significant section of the Everton fanbase,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams,
“The $5,000 promotion can be subject to accusations of encouraging irresponsible gambling. Therefore, Everton have done the right thing and rowed back.
“They didn’t want to use their progress as a means of further tying in with their main sponsor. We’ll have to wait and see how this relationship develops over time.
“Their justification is that cash is needed and needed now. It looks like Stake were the biggest payers and players in town when the agreement was signed.”
In other news, pundit suggests Everton boss Frank Lampard could be four games from “the chop” after latest.