In April 2023, the Premier League announced a voluntary agreement to remove gambling advertising from front-of-shirt sponsorships.
The decision was made after “extensive consultation” with the UK government over its review of gambling legislation, which has been common in recent times. budget announcement of the incumbent Labor government.
The new arrangement will apply from the start of the 2026/27 Premier League season, and while the change will be obvious, critics would say it is nothing more than a case of moving the goalposts.
Although the logos of several mainstream (and lesser-known) gambling brands will be removed from the front of the shirts, these companies will still be represented on the sleeves, on the back of the shirts, on training kits, on billboards around the pitch and elsewhere in the stadium.
It seems like a smart, calculated step, but one that entails risks.
🚨Premier League clubs made more than £1 billion from their shirts alone last season, taking into account the value of their deals with kit suppliers, front-of-shirt sponsors and income from sleeve sponsors. Kit manufacturers have pledged to provide almost £492m across 20 deals. pic.twitter.com/SQ4xVTrx21
— Łukasz Bączek (@Lu_Class_) August 22, 2025
The Premier League clubs have self-policed effectively and are aware of the pressure and developments at Westminster, with the UK government announcing a White Paper to review the Gambling Act.
They have bought time to work with betting partners on the new arrangements, but there will be a significant gap to fill on the front of the shirts.
The Premier League previously hinted that “a self-regulatory approach would provide a practical and flexible alternative to legislation or an outright ban”.
In addition to the action initiated by the elite in English football, a code of conduct Agreement was also reached between the Premier League, Football Association (national governing body), English Football League (levels 2-4) and Women’s Super League.
This is more of a protective position, based on four general principles around gambling sponsorship.
There is no looming ban on betting sponsorship on the front of shirts for the lower leagues in England, and that situation is made worse because SkyBet is the title sponsor of the EFL Championship, League One and League Two.
Reduction in the value of shirt sponsorship and overall revenue
In the current 2025/26 Premier League season, eleven of the twenty clubs have a gambling brand as main sponsor and main partner.
Those teams are Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Everton, Fulham, Leicester, Nottingham Forest, Southampton, West Ham and Wolves.
That’s a lot of revenue to replace, with the combined value of these sponsorship deals exceeding £140 million ($189 million) per season, according to Dean Akijobe, CEO of Football Media.
As reported by Hansardthe official report of all parliamentary debates, West Ham United vice-chairman Karren Brady told a House of Lords debate last November that “the typical difference between gambling and non-gambling shirt sponsorship is around 40%.”
She added: “For some Premier League clubs, this decision (to ban front-of-shirt betting advertising) will mean a reduction of around 20% in their total commercial revenue.”
🚨🚨| Premier League club kit sponsors by category.
1. Gambling
2. Finances
3. Airline
4. Food and drink
— Technology
— Tourism
– No sponsor (Chelsea)
[@Footy_Headlines] pic.twitter.com/U21Rj51sLz
— Goalsside (@goalsside) October 8, 2025
After the voluntary ban announced in 2024, Westham signed a front-of-shirt deal with BoyleSports for the current 2025/26 season, while Nottingham Forest did the same with Ballys.
The relative change also comes after a number of Premier League clubs received a warning about their relationships with gambling brands that are not licensed in Britain.
Bournemouth, Burnley, Fulham, Newcastle and Wolves were reprimanded by the UK Gambling Commission over the risks of promoting unlicensed gambling websites.
Many of these deals were brokered through TGP Europe, a broader white label gambling operator and agent, which subsequently exited the UK market after the Gambling Commission fined them £3.3 million ($4.43 million) for multiple breaches of anti-money laundering rules.
The gambling companies affiliated with TGP remained active, but had to ensure that their domains were geo-blocked to British users.
In the example of Nottingham Forest, their Kaiyun.com front-of-shirt sponsor (last season) was not accessible in the UK.
The crux of the problem is that Premier League clubs cannot determine who the ultimate owners or beneficiaries are of these Asian-focused, non-UK regulated gambling brands.
The advice to the clubs from the Gaming Commission was grim:
“You will want to be sure that your sponsorship and associated advertising arrangements are legal and do not pose a reputational risk to your sport.
“We recommend that any organization involved in sponsorship of brands that are not licensed by the Commission manages their exposure to risk. This includes convincing themselves of the source of funds for the scheme.”
As it is, Burnley (96.com), Crystal Palace (Net88), Fulham (SBOTOP), Sunderland (W88) and Wolves (DeBet) all have such partners for the final season of the current arrangement.
Betting company ‘supports’ Premier League ban
Intriguingly, said a BoyleSports spokesperson told Insider Sport says that “we support Premier League clubs’ self-imposed ban on front-of-shirt gambling sponsorship from the 2026/2027 season.”
In a nod to the changing dynamics between clubs and gambling partners, they added:
“We are already exploring how we can develop our presence in the stadium, on digital platforms and through direct fan engagement.
“Ultimately, visibility is important, but relevance and authenticity will carry more weight in the next era of football sponsorship, and we are determined to stay ahead of that shift.”
As for what companies will fill the void on the front of shirts, expect some movement from the big players in telecommunications, airlines, fintech and energy.Another development to pay attention to is the revival of cryptocurrency exposure in the Premier League.
For some it will be a step into the unknown, while most others will embrace the open arms… and piles of cash.
Last season, 14 Premier League clubs had some form of crypto partner, which is an untapped source of revenue that will be of concern to the authorities.
Just as gambling exposure is ‘reduced’, crypto will continue to emerge.
Other examples in European football
In Spain, La Liga is one of the most important European football competitions, but gambling sponsorship is completely banned.
A 2021 royal decree removed betting sponsors from shirts and stadiums in general, massively reducing brand visibility, but in the background clubs including Real Madrid still have lucrative deals with betting companies that do not operate in Spain.
Another interesting observation is the route taken football clubs in Belgiumwho chose to bypass the new rules and the removal of betting brands from the front of shirts.
Top clubs seemed to avoid new agreements by promoting sub-brands of gambling companies on their shirts.
Essentially, these were sports news app gateways to the main portals of gambling websites operated by major sponsors, but authorities later launched further investigations and tightened their approach.
Next season will bring changes to the Premier League and its clubs’ relationships with gambling brands.
How meaningful the change is and how long the shirt ban will last remains to be seen, but a new era is coming.
Image credit: PremierLeague/X
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