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  • Writer's pictureRyan Evans

Luton Town Chief on Gambling in Sport

Updated: Jan 7, 2019

Luton Town's Chief Executive Gary Sweet has said there's too many gambling ads in sport.


Speaking exclusively to the High Stakes documentary, Mr Sweet said that more needs to be done by gambling companies to protect vulnerable members of society, including problem gamblers and children.



Gary was speaking ahead of Luton's game against Fleetwood in December. Photo: Luton Town FC


He estimates that Luton Town have turned down around £500,000 in gambling advertisement over the last seven years during their march away from financial uncertainty towards their current battle for promotion to the Sky Bet Championship.


17 out of the 24 clubs in the second tier of English football have a gambling company as their main shirt sponsor, but Mr Sweet ruled out following them if they win promotion this season, saying that there's "no amount of money that really buys a principle".


"We do have strong principles here and principles that we stand by," he continued.


You can hear his views on gambling advertising in sport and his reaction to the banning of in-game gambling ads below, when he spoke to the High Stakes documentary in December.


You can hear more from Gary Sweet in the High Stakes documentary.



Gary Sweet and a consortium took over the former Premier League club in 2008, with the club in a dire financial position.


However, thanks in part to his stewardship, the club were able to shrink their debts and have bounced back to the third tier, and are amongst the sides aiming for promotion this season, sitting in second place at the time of writing.



Recent stats showed just how bad the situation was, with 17% of all advert spots going to gambling companies.

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