Football Governance Bill [HL]

Lord Addington Excerpts

Report stage
Tuesday 11th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Birt (CB)]

My Lords, I too will comment a little on the point about light-touch regulation. Before I do, earlier today—prompted, I think, by the noble Lord, Lord Parkinson—the Minister offered her good wishes to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final at the weekend. I wondered whether she would also be willing to offer her best wishes to Liverpool at the weekend, with the due impartiality that is merited. We need a little help tonight, because we are 1-0 down at half time to PSG, so she might like to send her immediate good wishes before it is too late for that game.

Needless to say—I have said this before—I truly support the regulation of English football, and I will not repeat what I have said in earlier debates. As the noble Lord, Lord Pannick, made clear, the Government’s amendment is extremely helpful. He intends not to press his own amendment, but I did not see anything wrong with underlining the point with the addition of “light-touch”.

Throughout my career, I experienced the public benefits of effective regulation in broadcasting. However, we know that not all regulation has proved successful in the UK or in other countries, and we must learn from both the successes and the lack of success. As the Chancellor said just a month ago, our economy has “suffered” due to “stifling and unpredictable regulation”. Overregulation bequeathed us the absurdly expensive and long-delayed HS2. On the other hand, under- regulation brings us sewage flowing freely into Lake Windermere, so we have to get the right kind of regulation.

These amendments should oblige the regulator to practise considered and proportionate regulation, focusing on what really matters—and more than one thing really matters, as has come out again and again in this debate. Above all, effective regulation here means ensuring that English football clubs should be well and prudently managed.

[Lord Addington (LD)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for Amendment 17, which I signed. It says that players and fans should be regarded. When discussing professional sport, the two key elements are: somebody to play and somebody to watch. Both should be recognised within the structure of this legislation as important.

With the huge amount of appetite for football, players are clearly under pressure of being overplayed. How they should be looked after is an important factor that all sports are dealing with. I encourage the regulator, when it comes out, to take a serious look at this, as well as the rights of fans. We had great fun debating which diverse group should be consulted. Well, let somebody else figure it out—we could not.

When it comes to light touch, I will break a habit of mine and read out something from the EFL which I received, I think, yesterday:

“The EFL does not support the enshrining of ‘light touch’ as a regulatory principle in the Bill … Light touch is an extremely subjective term that the IFR will struggle to meaningfully define as it goes about its activities … It also risks limiting the effectiveness of Regulators once it is operational, which instead should have the ability to determine what is the ‘right touch’”—


dozens of other expressions are available—

“to deal with any situation it is required to address”.

Hiding behind a mantra is never a good idea. What the Government have here is quantifiable at the very least, so I say yes to that. I hope that we can go forward, because the minute you get something like “It has to be light touch”, you will get it wrong. It has to be effective. I hope the Government and the regulator enshrine effectiveness from this point on; it does not matter if it is light or heavy, it matters if it works.

[Baroness Brady (Con)]

My Lords, I support the Government’s Amendment 18, which introduces a regulatory principle focused on necessity, proportionality and minimising regulatory burden. The Government deserve credit for this amendment. It is an attempt to recognise the concerns, expressed across the House during Committee, that this Bill outlines an overly complex and intrusive regulatory framework for football.

Indeed, I recall that the Government expressly ruled out a light-touch “watchdog” option in their impact assessment, in justifying the need for a more interventionist approach. We should bear in mind that this Bill overall is not easily described as “light touch”, but the Government’s amendment is an attempt to clarify Ministers’ intentions, which I believe are for a light-touch framework. We should note the obvious point that it is not an attempt to change the overall licensing framework, existing regulatory model, extensive range of powers, or broad suite of sanctions. Nevertheless, short of a wholesale change of approach and a much slimmer Bill, the tension this principle introduces is how the regulator exercises those powers, so it is welcome.

But I, for one, would like the Government to go further, both in the Bill and in guidance and their engagement with the shadow regulator. That is why I supported my noble friend Lord Pannick’s additional amendment detailing light touch, which I know he has now not moved. What I would like to suggest today is that Ministers enhance their amendment further by explicitly enabling different types of intervention approaches for different leagues, guiding towards greater reliance on leagues where appropriate.

The football pyramid is diverse, with varying risk profiles and governance capabilities. What is appropriate for Maidenhead United in the National League is very unlikely to be appropriate for Manchester United. The Premier League, for instance, has developed robust governance and regulatory structures over many years. It has built financial monitoring systems that effectively maintain competitive balance while ensuring club sustainability. I have not heard a single Minister or Peer in this House express any concern over the sustainability of Premier League clubs.

Steering the regulator more explicitly to tailor its approach to intervening based on a league’s governance standards, rulebooks and enforcement practices would be a very sensible approach. It would ensure regulatory resources target genuine areas of risk in the pyramid and would really help to bring about what I would describe as a “right-touch” regime—light touch where effective systems already operate, but more interventionist where they do not. I think this could deliver a more efficient model, as well as create positive incentives for leagues to strengthen their own governance frameworks.

Perhaps when the Minister responds, she could commit to working with me, the football authorities and the shadow regulator to encourage this common-sense approach, recognising the practical benefits that would be realised by working more closely with the leagues, by acknowledging the natural differences within our diverse football pyramid, and by steering the regulator to adopt a targeted, risk-based approach.

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Moved by

[Lord Addington]

23: After Clause 10, insert the following new Clause—
“Review of advertising and sponsorship related to gambling in English football(1) Within one year of establishment, the IFR must conduct a review of advertising and sponsorship related to gambling in English football.(2) The review must make recommendations regarding the necessary steps to achieve the elimination of advertising and sponsorship related to gambling in English football within five years of the day on which this Act is passed.(3) The Secretary of State must lay the review before Parliament.”Member's explanatory statement
This amendment requires the IFR to conduct a review and make recommendations regarding the steps required to eliminate advertising and sponsorship related to gambling in English football.

[Lord Addington (LD)]

My Lords, I wish to speak to Amendments 23, 29, 53 and 54 standing in my name. This is something that we have touched on—gambling and football. Certain sports such as horseracing tend to be dependent on gambling, but we have something of a surfeit of gambling advertising on our televisions: it is everywhere. In these amendments, I am suggesting that football might be one place we could do without it. The revenue might be very useful to the clubs involved, but we have already heard about the huge reach of football as a subject, and the fact that there is a huge demand for it. Can we not get rid of gambling here?

I have proposed four different ways of removing gambling from the football structure. We have removed other forms of gambling. The occasional flutter might not be as damaging as cigarettes, but it is very damaging for some people. It is an international sport. Look at Kenya and its problems with children gambling on the Premier League. Gambling has developed, and football is a lovely thing because you have lots of nice options to have occasional bets on. It has grown out of all recognition, into probably something none of us would even have suspected 20 years ago. I am proposing four ways of getting gambling to exit from professional football.

I could go on at great length about this, but it is fairly late and we had a good go at it in Committee. I hope the Government will say that they are going to do something on gambling in this Bill. I have given four options, and a bit of movement might make me more willing to withdraw the amendment. If I do not hear that at the appropriate time, I will press the amendment to a vote, because we have to draw a line in the sand at some point.

We have to stop it. Football markets itself as the universal game from childhood onwards. It is almost impossible. I had a discussion with the Advertising Association over a very nice dinner provided by it. The people there were talking about AI, and I asked them whether AI would allow them to filter out children. It was a resolute no, or at least they do not think so at the moment.

We have to do something here; it has got ridiculous. Can we please take some steps to stop advertising in football being quite so pervasive? It is not just on television, is on the radio, et cetera. If the Government are prepared to take some steps I will of course back them, because a slice is better than no cake. So, if the Government are prepared to do that, they will have my full support. If not, I will push this to a vote, probably on Amendment 53. I beg to move.

[Baroness Taylor of Bolton (Lab)]

My Lords, I want to say a few words on this amendment because I have a great deal of sympathy with what the noble Lord, Lord Addington, has been saying, although I am not sure that this is the vehicle for what he actually wants to do. There are many concerns about gambling, including in football, but I want to mention what one club has actually done. That club just happens to be Bolton Wanderers, which may not surprise people who have been here on other occasions.

In 2021, Bolton Wanderers closed all the on-site betting facilities that had been there for many years. That was a very big step. It committed the club to a new approach of not allowing gambling anywhere near the actual stadium, which was really important. It included not just direct gambling companies but those who were involved in them. It was a big step forward, because in the north-west, gambling has been quite a significant problem.

That was a big step for a club. There are other clubs that can and should do likewise, but Bolton Wanderers actually went one step further and introduced a system with others in the area, providing courses for fans who had been concerned about their own gambling habits and did not know where to access help. There was an outreach programme which I understand has had some degree of success, including a group called Against the Odds, which was worried about the gambling logo and the number of adverts going round the stadium during a match. It is not a solution to all the problems associated with gambling, but I mention it because it indicates what individual clubs can do, and we should encourage others to follow suit.

I agree with the noble Lord that there are the many wider problems that he has mentioned. I am personally not against gambling, per se, but I am against some of the tactics used by gambling companies to suck people in to becoming addicted and gambling more than they can afford. This is a bigger issue than just football; therefore, I understand if my noble friend the Minister cannot accept that we should be doing this in this Bill. But it is important that we are aware of that problem and that football clubs can help in these situations.

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[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Addington, for his amendments in this group. As the Minister for Gambling, I acknowledge the importance of monitoring the impact of gambling sponsorship in football. Indeed, the noble Lord has raised this with me on a regular basis. I absolutely agree that, where gambling advertising and sponsorship appear in relation to football clubs, they must do so in a socially responsible way. The cumulative impact of gambling advertising, specifically around football, is, as I said, raised with me frequently.

I have already set the gambling industry, relatively recently, a task to raise standards to ensure that gambling advertising more widely is both proportionate and appropriate. This work will be monitored closely. It is fair and reasonable for the Government to challenge the sector to make self-regulatory improvements first. In our view, this can deliver positive change more quickly. The Premier League has already made a decision to ban front-of-shirt sponsorship by gambling firms by the end of next season, and many clubs, as highlighted by my noble friend Lady Taylor, already do not take sponsorship or advertising by gambling firms.

All major sports have also published their gambling sponsorship codes of conduct, which set minimum standards for gambling sponsorships within sport. We will work with sports bodies to undertake a review of the implementation and impact of the codes of conduct to ensure they are effective. This review will provide key evidence to inform the most appropriate next steps. However, we do not believe the regulator should have a specific role in commercial matters such as advertising and sponsorship, which are rightly decisions for clubs.

It is important to recognise the vital revenue that many clubs currently rely on via advertising and sponsorship from gambling firms, as highlighted by the noble Baroness, Lady Fox of Buckley. We have to be wary of scope creep that sees the regulator straying into matters that should be reserved for the industry and stepping on the toes of industry authorities such as the FA and other regulators that have a remit over this area of policy.

On Amendment 29, current drafting already requires fan engagement on clubs’ business priorities and strategic approach. Discussion of a club’s overall approach to sponsorship could reasonably play a role in these consultations. We do not, however, think it appropriate for the regulator to require specific fan engagement on gambling advertising and sponsorship specifically, especially as it would not be relevant at all clubs, such as those with no gambling sponsors.

On Amendment 53, what constitutes the promotion of gambling could be interpreted extremely widely, such as players not being able to take part in competitions that have gambling sponsors. Clearly, this would, or could, have significant unintended consequences for clubs and the sport more widely.

On Amendment 23, a review of gambling advertising and sponsorship in football should not, in our view, be the responsibility of a regulator with a specific remit of the kind intended by this legislation. As I have set out, the Government are already taking action in this space in conjunction with the industry and governing bodies in football and other sports. This will review the implementation and impact of the codes of conduct to ensure they are effective. If further action on sponsorship and advertising is needed, we will take it, but for the reasons I have set out I hope the noble Lord will withdraw his amendment.

[Lord Addington (LD)]

I thank the noble Baroness for her response. However, it seems to be, “Yes, something should be done—at some point in the future, we will definitely do something”. I do not really think that we can carry on like that. We have to try to do something as quickly as possible, because the combination of the smartphone and the universal web means that the temptation to gamble is constantly with us. It is something that we have not addressed properly. Most of our regulation is designed for a day before the smartphone, so I hope that we will do something now.

As I said, a series of amendments was put down to give a series of options for the Government. The Government have decided not to bite. So I give fair notice that I will be pressing Amendment 53 when the time comes, but I beg leave to withdraw Amendment 23, standing in my name.

Amendment 23 withdrawn.