Official: https://www.southamptonfc.com/news/2021-04-08/southampton-fc-renew-partnership-with-sportsbetio
Great news! Don't really care that is is a gambling company but I guess a few will worry it isnt ethical. We need the money and at least these guys are an actual company unlike LD sports!
What a world we live in. A gambling company now genuinely looks like a moral upgrade on the previous (made up?) sponsor...
I was annoyed with the partnership last summer but don't really care too much either way now. They seem to do a lot in the community and to promote sensible gambling, so there could be worse partners. There will be a lot of people unhappy with the news, but in the circumstances I can see why the club have chosen them.
Biggest deal in clubs history. Hard to refuse. I think shirt sales will drop as a result but club should still be massively better off. I think I'll restrict my objection to simply not buying a shirt anymore. Can't argue with the economics from the clubs point of view. I think the current seasons shirt is probably the best ever (IMO) and I still have one with the LD logo so it will get good use by me over the years ahead!
Let’s face it, we need the money, and with us playing in the Europa next season after beating City in the FA final. We now got more funds to help with our European tour.
I’m with you on this Libby. Yes, we need to find a good sponsor with a good deal, however I always disliked the thought of a gambling company as our sponsor. This means that the club promote and encourage gambling. It doesn’t change my love for Saints, but I don’t like it, don’t agree with having this type of sponsor and I wish the club hadn’t done it. I’d always hoped we would have a more moralistic view in a world where money is clearly becoming more and more important than values.
It's not like we are the only ones doing it though. I'm not sure of the exact numbers but I'm guessing it's over half and nearer 75% of the teams in the Premier League. I'm sure if we could go out and get a similar deal with a non-betting company then we would but the fact that this seems to be the norm across the league suggests that these other companies either can't compete or aren't willing to offer the same deal.
Also worth remembering there is nothing wrong with gambling if done in a healthy way. Majority of people who have a flutter enjoy it and don't become addicted. No one complained when Kingfisher became our official beer sponsor - why is gambling any worse than alcohol? It isn't like smoking which impacts the health of everyone who partakes whilst offering almost no benefits to the individual.
I think we could find a fault in any sponsor to be fair. not overly pleased with a betting company, but it is what it is.
I seem to remember someone at the club saying in an interview that in an ideal world they wouldn't have a betting company as the shirt sponsor but with the situation with LD Sports, we took what we could get last minute. I imagine this runs along a similar road. Times are tough, we are making big losses with Covid and had to take out a hefty loan which is hanging over us. Presumably we took this sponsor as it was a significantly better deal than any others on the table. It is what it is. I've personally never payed much attention to shirt sponsors anyway.
A betting logo on a shirt is an issue because it advertises and promotes gambling which is something that has ensnared hundreds of thousands of people and causes untold stress, anxiety and has led to many suicides. It's understandable the club have done this for financial reasons but like others, I would have preferred the club hadn't done it. There is talk that this betting company does work in the community to help those with gambling problems? That's like a drug dealer offering advice on rehab clinics to drug addicts. It's bollocks. In fact it's Total Bastard Bollocks.
My old man always used to say to me: “Two wrongs don’t make a right” ... and then he’d mutter something about if my mate stuck his head in the oven, would I