English Premier League Clubs Agree To Do Away Gambling Sponsorships On Front Jerseys
Premier League clubs have collectively agreed to withdraw gambling sponsorship from the front of clubs’ matchday shirts.
There are eight current Premier League clubs with gambling companies as shirt-front sponsors, with an estimated value of £60m per annum.
The change will begin at the start of the 2026/27 season.
A Premier League statement read: “Premier League clubs have today collectively agreed to withdraw gambling sponsorship from the front of clubs’ matchday shirts, becoming the first sports league in the UK to take such a measure voluntarily in order to reduce gambling advertising.
“The announcement follows an extensive consultation involving the League, its clubs and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport as part of the Government’s ongoing review of current gambling legislation.
“The Premier League is also working with other sports on the development of a new code for responsible gambling sponsorship.
“To assist clubs with their transition away from shirt-front gambling sponsorship, the collective agreement will begin at the end of the 2025/26 season.”
Premier League clubs will be allowed to secure new gambling sponsorship for the front of shirts until the ban commences.
Current sponsorship deals with gambling companies can remain in place for the next three years too.
It is understood that gambling brands can feature in other areas, which include shirt sleeves and on advertising hoardings, beyond the 2025-26 campaign.
How crucial is the betting industry to football?
Eight out of 20 Premier League teams this season, and six out of 24 in the Championship, are sponsored by companies linked to gambling. Rick Parry, the chairman of the EFL whose own competitions are sponsored by Sky Bet, said last year that betting sponsorship was worth up to £40million a year to the league and its clubs.
Which clubs will be affected – and what about shirt sleeves?
Five of the eight affected clubs are among the sides locked in the relegation battle, but will still be concerned even if they go down as the new collective agreement does not kick in until the end of the 2025/26 Premier League season, a league statement read, “to assist clubs with their transition away from shirt-front gambling sponsorship.”
Teams with betting sponsors on shirts:
- Bournemouth
- Brentford
- Everton
- Fulham
- Leeds
- Newcastle
- Southampton
- West Ham
The Premier League’s announcement specified clubs had agreed to “withdraw gambling sponsorship from the front of clubs’ matchday shirts”, which suggests the brands could still feature on shirt sleeves.
Why do campaigners want an end to front-of-shirt sponsorship?
Carolyn Harris, the chair of the Gambling-Related Harms All-Party Parliamentary Group, believes shirt sponsorship by betting companies “normalises” gambling for children, and that gambling sponsorship in sport in all its forms should – and would – be banned.
The Big Step campaign has called for an end to all gambling advertising and sponsorship in football. The campaign is led by people harmed by gambling, both recovered gambling addicts and the bereaved families of those whose gambling addiction contributed to them taking their own lives.
What will happen?
It was reported in July last year that the Premier League was asking its clubs to voluntarily phase out front-of-shirt gambling sponsors in order to avert legislation.
A White Paper containing recommendations on reforms to the Gambling Act was reportedly close to publication when former Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced he would stand down, placing it on hold last summer.
The subsequent turmoil within the Conservative Party and the eventual appointment of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak led to further delays. Lucy Frazer, the current Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, was appointed in February.
In her March speech to the Gambling with Lives Annual Parliamentary Forum, Ms Frazer acknowledged another ministerial transition “must be very frustrating” but vowed the White Paper remained an “absolute priority” with the government “committed to publishing it soon.”
Could cryptocurrency companies fill the gap?
With the exception of Crawley, and a short-lived deal signed by Barnsley, clubs have not yet rushed headlong to embrace crypto companies as their saviours amid fears gambling sponsorship could be outlawed, though many already have established relationships with such companies and those offering fan tokens to supporters.
The Football Supporters’ Association wants the game’s authorities to introduce regulatory standards on cryptocurrency in football.
So where else could clubs look, with or without a ban on gambling sponsorship?
Tranmere chairman Mark Palios says club commercial directors need to be more imaginative, and recognise the value of deals which reflect a club’s role within the local community.
Plymouth’s sponsorship model could also gain wider traction – where a brand, in Argyle’s case food manufacturer Ginsters, hands over the front-of-shirt space to a local charity.
