EPL Team Severs Fresh Ties With Asian Bookmaker Over Inappropriate Advertising

Norwich City have terminated their main sponsorship deal with obscure Asian bookmaker BK8 Sports as a stance against the company’s lurid marketing content.

Earlier this week, the recently promoted EPL club had announced a lucrative partnership with the Asian company, whose branding would have replaced Dafabet, another Asian gambling company, on the team’s shirts next season.

However, following public uproar over risque imagery in BK8’s social media posts, Norwich and their new main partner have agreed to end their association by mutual consent and the club has apologised for “an error of judgement”.

A statement on the club’s official website said Norwich City can announce the mutual termination of the club’s commercial partnership with BK8.

“The club and BK8 have taken on board feedback from its supporters and partners, and after continued discussions we have agreed to immediately end the partnership.”

In the first place, this unsavoury episode should have been avoided If Norwich had done its due dilligence on its potential shirt partner. However, the bigger question is that the UK government’s gambling review has to prioritise an overhaul of the “white label”* loophole exploited by English football clubs. 

*The “white label” system allows the UK access to foreign gambling companies that don’t neccessarily follow UK gambling laws.