Due to the Australian public's concerns about gambling advertising in the sports world, Entain Group will suspend its sponsorship of the jerseys of Australian professional sports teams.
Entain operates the Ladbrokes and Neds brands in Australia. The group is reducing its sports sponsorship in Australia, and the end of jersey sponsorship is just one of them.
The Sydney Morning Herald quoted the company as saying: "While we have many excellent partners in this space, we understand the community sentiment around this issue and believe now is the right time to exit this sector."
The company has sponsored teams such as the Brisbane Broncos and Canterbury-Benz Bulldogs in the past and has sponsorship relationships with the UFC and A-League.
Ladbrokes has ended its $7.5 million long-term sponsorship deal with the Broncos after the Queensland government introduced a new betting tax.
However, the report states that Ladbrokes will continue its partnership with Australian horseracing.
Earlier this week, the newspaper, along with fellow publication Time, released the results of an exclusive poll showing that 62% of voters would ban gambling companies from sponsoring professional sports.
From casinos to pubs and clubs, and now online betting, regulators in Australia have been increasing their scrutiny of the country’s gambling industry.
On Monday, the government unveiled a new slogan that will come into effect in March next year and will replace the current one: "Gamble Responsibly".
The new slogans are more provocative, with content such as "You may lose" and "What does gambling cost you?"
