Everton have avoided a potentially problematic situation after it was revealed the UK government has decided to shelve plans to ban gambling companies from sponsoring the shirts of English football clubs.
Last year the government undertook a review into its 17-year-old gambling legislation and its relationship with football in a bid to determine whether it was fit and proper for the modern age. Measures such as a blanket ban on betting firms taking prominent shirt sponsorship was something that was under serious consideration.
In the 2021/22 season almost half of the teams in the Premier League had front of shirt sponsorship from a gambling firm, with Newcastle United, West Ham United and Leeds United among them. This season other clubs have taken on a main partnership with betting firms, including Everton who earlier this month revealed that they had agreed a deal with online casino Stake.com to replace previous sponsors Cazoo from the 2022/23 season in what was described as a club record multi-year deal.
