MrQ Sign For Watford FC As New Sponsor
Published On 21st June 2023
MrQ are the surprise first signing of the new season for Championship side Watford Football Club. The joint partnership was announced on the 15th June 2023 and it'll see "the logo of the locally-based gambling company adorn the front of the club's shirts". The deal will also mean that MrQ will be the club's principal sponsor for the 23/24 season and beyond. MrQ hope that the deal will help raise their profile, not only as a club sponsor, but as part of the wider community. But isn't it a strange time to be revealing a gambling brand as a front of football club shirt sponsor?
Premier League To Drop Gambling Sponsors
The answer to that question is yes and no. Back in April 2023 Premier League Clubs did agree to drop gambling sponsors from the front of their match day shirts. However this isn't going to come into effect until after the end of the 2025-26 season. So that means at least two more years of seeing gambling logos adorn Premier League shirts. After the 25/26 season logos won't be on the front of shirts but there are options for logos to appear elsewhere. However as far as we're aware there isn't a similar agreement in place for the EFL. Furthermore The EFL clubs recently voted to retain Sky Bet as the sponsor of the league for the next five years. This means that they'll be in place until at least the 2028/29 season. It would seem strange for EFL Clubs to remove gambling advertisers from their shirts whilst everything else will have Sky Bet adorned across it due to the sponsorship rights. Therefore we can conclude that MrQ have a window of at least a few years before The EFL follows The EPL in removing gambling brands from the front of their shirts.
"Very Disappointing"
Whilst both Watford FC and MrQ are buoyant about this deal, some fans are less than enthusiastic. On Twitter @KarlCampion3 noted that it was "wery disappointing that we continue with gambling related sponsorship!". Meanwhile @AdamBronkhurst was pretty direct with his views stating "While people continue to lose the shirt off their back through gambling addiction and families are torn apart; our family club has again, a gambling sponsorship on the front of our shirt". In fact it was hard to find any positive comments regarding the deal. However Matthew Atkins on Facebook did suggest that the deal is "money to make the club better, and reading MrQ on a shirt does not make anyone suddenly want to gamble, nor does it promote addiction". Watford FC have also been quick to point out that children's shirts will not feature the MrQ logo (as is standard for gambling sponsors of any club) plus adults can purchase shirts without the logo. That said some supporters would prefer Watford to take lead from their nearest rivals. Newly promoted Premier League Luton FC were 1 of 30 clubs that support The Big Step, an initiative to remove all gambling ads from football.
Positive Impact
MrQ launched in 2018 as a disruptor brand within the online bingo space. They set out to create a site that offered something different whilst paying out funds swiftly, fairly and without any wagering concerns. Since then they've become more slots and casino focused but retain their intention to shake up the industry. Their aim is to shift the focus on gambling to one of "fun". They believe in "fairness, value entertainment and crafting with care". Recently they started to add their own games via Goosicorn to their platform such as the Dr Acula Slot. All this is great on paper but they're going to have to work extremely hard to convince people that they're different to other casinos and gambling companies. It's another bold step for MrQ as they continue their journey. Will it help them and Watford follow Luton into The Premier League? We'll know the answers in just under 12 months time. In the mean time we look forward to seeing just how this new partnership develops.
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