Kieran Maguire: Man United ’embarrassed’ as £3m money laundering fine confirmed
Man United will be embarrassed about the latest headlines surrounding gambling partner Betfred.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the latest controversy with the Salford-based bookmaker.
United first partnered with Betfred in August this year.
As relayed by Gambling Insider on Wednesday (28 September), the company have been fined £2.87million by the Gambling Commission on anti-money laundering and responsibility grounds.
The independent body found that the brand had no controls in place to stop overspending by new customers and did not adhere to rigorous financial checks.
Gambling sponsorship in football has been under the spotlight in recent years, and it has has been widely reported that a ban on front-of-shirt advertising is in the works.
Maguire claimed that, while United cannot be held personally responsible for Betfred’s failings, they could suffer “reputational damage” as a result of the saga.
“Man United signed the partnership in good faith,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams
“They can’t be expected to nanny the company, regardless of the industry they operate in.
“At the same time, every partnership has reputational risk when you’re such a big brand like Man United.
“As tends to be the case, the club tends to be blinded by the cheque in examples like this.
“This is an embarrassing issue for United but, given the number of own goals the club has scored on and off the pitch in recent years, I’m sure they will try to shrug it off.”
In other news, Gabby Agbonlaor tells Man United to scrap Jordan Pickford signing plan as “perfect replacement” already found.