It will end a five-year partnership between the organisations. Ladbrokes, owned by GVC Holdings, first signed a two-year sponsorship deal with the SPFL for more than £4million in 2015 before extending it for a year. That was followed by a new deal was signed for two years worth around £5million which was the largest ever title sponsorship signed in Scottish league football Neil Doncaster, chief executive of the SPFL, will now focus on finding another sponsor who is willing to equal or better Ladbrokes offer for the benefit of the 42 clubs. “Ladbrokes’ parent company, GVC Holdings, recently announced a reduction in the visibility of their betting brands during football matches, including within SPFL matches in season 2019/20. As a result, they have confirmed that their title sponsorship of the Scottish Premiership, Championship, League 1 and League 2 will not be renewed once the current agreement concludes at the end of this season. “We’re proud of the tremendous partnership we’ve enjoyed with Ladbrokes since 2015 and, given the growth of Scottish football over the past four years, with seasonal crowds up almost 20% to 4.9m, we’re in great shape to attract significant interest from new sponsors, both nationally and internationally. “Working with our 42 clubs across Scotland has been hugely beneficial for Ladbrokes, with enormous brand exposure and media value. “We’ll no doubt have strong interest from potential title sponsors in light of the unrivalled level of nationwide coverage, passion and drama that the SPFL consistently delivers, plus our live TV coverage confirmed up to 2025, and we expect a busy period of discussions over the coming months.” GVC Holdings, who also own Coral, Bwin and Sportingbet, want to switch focus and concentrate on responsible gambling, which means no advertising at grounds or during half-time of broadcasts. The company launched the 'Changing For The Bettor' campaign earlier this year. “The campaign is being spearheaded by a major new research project into problem gambling with the Division on Addiction, Cambridge Health Alliance, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital," said GVC Holdings. “The guiding principle of Changing for the Bettor is to further establish GVC as the most trusted and enjoyable betting operator in the world.”
Ladbrokes will not renew its sponsorship of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) at the end of this season. The announcement ends the company's five-year partnership with the SPFL, which will now begin the search for a replacement.