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New row about betting and football

The ever closer links between football and betting companies have given rise to concern. Britain's gambling companies provide more than £47m in shirt sponsorship deals for Premier League clubs. Nine clubs have betting companies as their main shirt sponsor. Watford and West Bromwich Albion have gambling companies as shirt-sleeve sponsors.

The most lucrative deal is that of West Ham United with Betway, worth £10m. Everton receive £9.6m from SportPesa. At the other end of the spectrum Burnley are paid £2.5m by Dafabet and Huddersfield Town £1.5m by Ope Sports. The range of payments reflects the different profiles of the clubs.

GambleAware has expressed concerns that clubs are 'normalising' gambling for young people. An investigation by the Sunday Times found that clubs such as West Ham and Stoke City have been using some of their youngest players, who are not legally permitted to gamble, to help promote betting sponsors. Some clubs also advertise betting sites to young fans who can play casino games there without age verification.

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