Industry reaction to Premier League’s decision to ditch front-of-shirt gambling sponsorship

Premier League clubs have agreed to remove front-of-shirt gambling sponsorship from the start of the 2026-27 season in a landmark move for both the industry and the sport.

The decision, which had been expected, will give the clubs and their partners a three-year grace period to prepare for the removal of sponsors from premium shirt space.

The voluntary ban has been questioned in terms of its reach, with clubs still able to name gambling firms as sleeve sponsors and in-stadia advertising partners.

However, it is a major step forward for gambling reformists who have long campaigned for the removal of advertising in English football’s top-tier.

Eight Premier League clubs currently have front-of-shirt gambling sponsors, with The Times reporting that two unnamed clubs abstained from the vote on 13 April.

West Ham hold a partnership with Betway stretching back to 2015 while Everton boast crypto operator Stake on their shirts.

Bournemouth, Brentford, Fulham, Leeds, Newcastle and Southampton make up the other six sides with front-of-shirt gambling sponsors.

Wolves are currently the only side with a gambling sleeve sponsorship in the shape of 12Bet, with the vast majority of clubs having a gambling partner or partners.

Many of the gambling sponsors on Premier League kits are Asia-facing operators which use the league as a shop window for audiences watching the action in the Far East.

Following the decision, EGR Intel spoke to several industry figures and bodies about their thoughts behind the future withdrawal and what impact it could have on both the sector and sport.

Matt Zarb-Cousin, director of Clean Up Gambling

This is a welcome concession, but it also amounts to a confession of the damage relentless gambling advertising can do to those experiencing gambling problems and children whose perceptions are influenced by it.

This agreement points to a lack of action on advertising in the forthcoming white paper, which will put pressure on government to deliver reforms that ensure online gambling is safe. Otherwise, we will have over-promotion of a sector harming the population disproportionately.

A Betting and Gaming Council spokesperson

We welcome this decision and look forward to a new code on responsible gambling sponsorship in sport in the upcoming white paper.

Is it important to note, the government has previously stated research did not establish a causal link between exposure to advertising and the development of problem gambling.

Betting advertising and sponsorship must comply with strict guidelines and safer gambling messaging is regularly and prominently displayed. Betting operators’ logos cannot be used on children’s clothing – including replica football kits – while the whistle-to-whistle ban has reduced the number of TV betting commercials viewed by children during live sports before the watershed by 97%.

Regulated betting and gaming provides the country’s best loved sports with funding, including the English Football League and its clubs, which receive £40m annually.

We are encouraged by the latest figures from the Gambling Commission that showed the rate of problem gambling among UK adults is 0.2% – down from 0.4% the year previous.

We continue to work closely with government to deliver the gambling review which is a further opportunity to raise standards and promote safer gambling.

Our response to this Big Step! https://t.co/cOqMXXrPon pic.twitter.com/U25Gcw5c08

— The Big Step (@the_bigstep) April 13, 2023

A UK Gambling Commission spokesperson 

We welcome this as a positive step forward by the Premier League. Gambling marketing, advertising and sponsorship have been considered as part of the government’s review of the Gambling Act 2005 and we look forward to the publication of the white paper.

Richard Davies, senior associate at Charles Russell Speechlys 

The announcement from clubs to ban gambling sponsorship from the front of matchday shirts is unsurprising ahead of the government’s upcoming white paper, which is predicted to recommend an equivalent ban.

Despite sponsorship contracts usually including protections for clubs to get out of deals in the event of regulatory changes, the three-year transition period is an important measure for clubs from a commercial perspective. When similar rules were imposed in Italy in 2019, the six-month notice period caused a number of clubs issues with existing contractual commitments.

The financial ramifications of this ban would undoubtedly weigh heavier on smaller clubs, if imposed in the lower leagues, where club finances are more precarious and alternative sponsors harder to come by.

Hal Robson-Kanu, former Premier League footballer 

This is amazing news and sees the Premier League become the first sports league in the UK to take a measure like this, voluntarily, in order to reduce gambling advertising. I hope this causes a domino effect for more sports to follow suit.

The premier league have recognised that gambling adverts on football shirts cause gambling harm. BUT won’t remove the adverts from the pitch side or shirt sleeves. Despite recognising it causes harm. ( fixed that for you @premierleague ) https://t.co/dCj0Y16GNP

— Ronnie Cowan MP (@ronniecowan) April 13, 2023

Felix Faulkner, solicitor at Poppleston Allen

 On the one hand, the not-entirely-unexpected decision by the Premier League to ban gambling companies from front-of-shirt sponsorships will be disappointing to the industry. On the other hand, the fact it applies only to the front of shirts and doesn’t come into play until the end of the 2025-26 season might mean the forthcoming white paper will not contain any further advertising restrictions, particularly as the Premier League’s announcement stated it had consulted with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport as part of the government’s review of gambling legislation.

The gambling industry has already been significantly curtailed in its use of football-related advertising by the recently introduced Committee for Advertising Practice (CAP) regulations that prevent gambling advertising using personalities of ‘strong appeal’ to children, effectively meaning all current Premier League players and many other well-known football stars are off limits to gambling companies.