On Friday last, we joined a group of academics and industry experts from around the world at the 1st Reading Football Economics Workshop. My paper examined the evolution of the football jersey through time, and was presented just before the keynote address.
The keynote fitted nicely with my work, as Prof. David Forrest (University of Liverpool) spoke about the economics of sport and the gambling industry, and started his presentation with a picture of the Real Mallorca jersey bearing the sponsor "Betfred".
As the presentation advanced, the audience heard that today 10 Premier League teams (50%) are sponsored by a gambling company. However, none of the Big Six are sponsored by this industry.
The tables below are the league standing, where the club name has been replaced by the sponsor's industry, for 2018/19 (left) and 2019/20 as of the 27th of September 2019. I think they speak for themselves and should be cause for concern for football policymakers and other stakeholders.