Elite soccer clubs in Belgium appear to be using loopholes to evade new restrictions that crack down on gambling sponsorship in sports.
In the small western European nation, the gambling commission, Kanspelcommissie (KSC), introduced stringent rules in January with various stipulations.
One of those was to eradicate betting brands as primary sponsors on the front of soccer jerseys, but the clubs are finding ways to work around the new arrangements.
There is supposed to be an outright ban on all gambling logos on the front of kits, with those positioned on the back and elsewhere not allowed to be larger than 75 cm².
However, in the Juplier Pro League (the top-flight competition of Belgian soccer) and UEFA European competitions, the clubs are seemingly disregarding the new directive.
Club Brugge and Standard Liege are two of the biggest clubs in Belgium, both have gambling companies as primary sponsor partners.
Brugge has a deal with sportsbook Unibet, owned by the Kindred Group, but in recent games, they have displayed U-Expert branding on their kit.
U-Expert is a sports news app developed by Unibet and essentially, a gateway to its sports betting offering. Standard have been wearing jerseys adorned with the Circus Daily logo, a similar site that pushes traffic toward the Circus betting platform.
Other clubs such as Sporting Charleroi and Royal Antwerp, with betting companies as sponsor partners, have been using similar tactics to flout the ban.
Brugge even has the main Unibet logo across the shoulders of their jersey in a font that appears to be bigger than the permitted size.
As reported by SBC, the KSC has launched an investigation into these actions from the clubs.
Killer instinct 𝐱𝟐. 🫡🎯 #CLUBEE
— Club Brugge KV (@ClubBrugge) January 19, 2025
Clubs supported by very limited enforcement
“Gambling companies and certain football (soccer) clubs are signaling that they don’t really care about the legislation,” said Bram Constandt, a professor of sports management at Ghent University in Belgium.
“They are supported by very limited enforcement for the time being. It seems that all means are good for some clubs to perpetuate their great dependence on the income of the gambling industry, even though scientific research increasingly shows that this sponsorship is an important driver of gambling damage – not least among vulnerable groups such as minors and gambling addicts in recovery.”
The professor points directly to some uncomfortable conversations, relating to soccer’s almost dependence on gambling sponsorships in certain markets as well as a reluctance to get on board with changes coming in from national regulators.
Clubs in England will be watching on with interest, as a similar ban will be implemented in the Premier League for the 2026/27 season. A rule change will see gambling logos axed from the front of jerseys, but they still will be permitted elsewhere on the kit, as well as prominently on training kits.
Image credit: Grok/X
