English Premier League club Aston Villa have reportedly agreed on a main sponsorship deal with controversial betting company BK8.

The Aston Villa Fans Consultation Group (FCG) met with senior Club officials to discuss the recent reports regarding the alleged sponsorship agreement with BK8 and the Club’s wider commercial strategy.

The Club provided the FCG an insight into the tender process, and provided assurances of an extensive due diligence selection process for all commercial partners. In addition, brands would align with the Club’s ethics and values.

Due to contractual obligations and being mid-contract with the incumbent front-of-shirt sponsor, the Club would not confirm or deny the reports.

The FCG’s understanding is that the reports are correct, and BK8 will be the new front-of-shirt sponsor for the next three seasons.

While some fans will be disappointed after Villa’s current front-of-shirt sponsor moved away from gambling companies, the commercial reality is that to teams outside the top six, such sponsors offer clubs twice as much financially as non-gambling companies.