Newcastle urged to remove betting ads with ‘gambling addict’ Sandro Tonali active

October 18, 2023

An awkward situation appears to be brewing in the English Premier League as Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali, who is facing a one-year ban for betting on games involving his former team, AC Milan, is set to play in a home game against Crystal Palace.

Newcastle, which plays at St. James Park, has loads of gambling ads throughout its stadium from English sportsbooks Fun88 and Sportsbet.io, with more ads filling in from worldwide power BetMGM Sportsbook.

The team also has the logo of gambling firm BK8 on its jersey, which will need to be removed from the front of their kits starting in 2025/26, though they will be allowed on sleeves.

Tonali, 23, has admitted to betting, with his agent saying he is fighting a gambling addiction.

Since the suspension has yet to be placed on Tonali, the defensive midfielder is being subjected to playing in the stadium and being on the sidelines with advertisements about betting bonuses and other opportunities.

According to DailyMail, Newcastle is being urged by a group known as The Big Step, a gambling community looking to end gambling advertising in soccer.

The group is calling on Newcastle players to “stand in solidarity” with Tonali in an attempt to get the betting advertising removed from the stadium.

“Newcastle United and Aston Villa should stand in solidarity with their players and review their relationship with gambling firms,” said The Big Step, part of charity Gambling with Lives. “We wouldn’t force someone with a drug addiction to work somewhere with wall-to-wall advertising of the dealer’s number — why isn’t it the same for gambling?”