Will Scottish football ever escape its addiction to gambling sponsors?

I t ain’t easy running the business side of Scottish football. At the heart of every senior club – from the affluent executive suites of Parkhead, Ibrox and Tynecastle to the pie stalls and community initiatives of Cappielow, Ochilview or Stark’s Park – there is a sense that every penny raised from commercial sponsorship is vital to continued success.

Scottish clubs cannot survive on TV money alone and two key areas of income – alcohol and gambling – are under closer scrutiny than ever before. Comparatively speaking, the Scottish game depends heavily on both. Its dependence on alcohol for commercial support is second only to that of Belgium among the top 10 European leagues. More than half of Scottish top clubs rely on both betting and booze for sponsorship, in some form.

“There is a reason companies pay for that. It is hugely visible in many ways. In Scotland it is hugely visible to saturation point really,” says Dr Richard Purves of the Institute for Social Marketing and Health at the University of Stirling. “It is common for these industries to say that marketing’s impact on people’s behaviour is simply about the brand. In other words, it is about persuading people who drink or gamble to switch to a particular brand; it isn’t about getting people addicted. This is incorrect – gambling operations make their money from people betting regularly, and in relatively large amounts.”

Purves and his colleagues have been researching consumer behaviour in relation to alcohol, gambling and other vices, for several years. Their studies arrive at a time when there is growing unease about how these various addictions affect people, especially in poorer communities.

Sponsors are no strangers to controversy. A generation ago it was