The 2026–27 season marks the first season in which the Premier League’s ban on gambling-related front-of-shirt sponsors takes effect. The decision was announced in April 2023, following acceptance by clubs, in a landmark move that made the Premier League the first UK sports league to implement such a ban.
The delayed implementation gave clubs a further three seasons to adjust their sponsorship strategies and transition to new markets. The ban is a positive initiative by the league to address growing concerns about the impact of such deal exposure on fans.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Access deeper industry intelligence
Experience unmatched clarity with a single platform that combines unique data, AI, and human expertise.
The gambling industry is associated with addiction, and the high visibility of gambling brands on Premier League shirts could be seen as influencing wider interest, particularly among those affected by addiction and impressionable younger audiences.
The 2025–26 season saw 55% of the league feature a gambling-related front-of-shirt partner, underscoring the industry’s influence on team sponsorship deals. This season is the first since 2003–04 in which no Premier League club has a betting-related front-of-shirt partner.
Among the 11 clubs affected from last season, the average tenure of gambling-related front-of-shirt partnerships since 2006–07 is 10.8 seasons, highlighting the gambling industry’s impact on the sponsorship market over the past two decades.
One driver of the strong association with gambling brands has been the higher revenues typically attached to these deals. While the biggest clubs can command a premium through global reach—reducing the need to partner with betting brands (the four largest club deals this season—Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Liverpool—average $77.30 million)—clubs outside that top tier have, in recent seasons, relied more heavily on the higher fees paid by gambling partners.
The higher value of these rights for betting brands stems from international exposure, direct visibility to engaged fanbases, and the opportunity to promote a range of betting markets. In 2025–26, 90.9% of betting brand partners were based outside the UK, with Asian betting brands particularly prominent, accounting for 45.5% of deals.
This reflects the importance of international audiences and, in some markets, the use of overseas partnerships to navigate national betting rules and regulations.
Given the higher values typically associated with betting brands, many expected significant declines in front-of-shirt sponsorship values this season. Five industries are represented among the direct shirt sponsor replacements from last season, with financial services the most prominent, featuring in three such deals. The overall drop in market value was forecast to be as high as 38%.
Across eight of the 11 teams that had a gambling-related shirt sponsor and were not relegated, annual sponsorship value has fallen from $94.13m to $90.55m, a decline of just 3.8%.
This reduction has been offset by the substantial increase at Everton FC, where the reported value of its deal with CMC Markets represents a 79.4% increase on its previous reported shirt sponsorship agreement with Stake.
However, five teams have seen a decline in annual value, with the largest drop at AFC Bournemouth, where value fell by 32.3%. Across the five teams to have seen a drop, the average decline in value is 25.6%, not including Sunderland, who are yet to announce a front-of-shirt sponsor for the current season.
The prominence of the gambling market cannot be understated, and the decision to ban such brand presence on Premier League front-of-shirt sponsorships is a positive step. While it reduces visibility to impressionable audiences, its practical impact appears limited. Gambling brands remain visible throughout Premier League matchdays.
Four clubs that featured a gambling-related front-of-shirt partner last season have announced a gambling-related partner for sleeve rights this season, making the industry the most prominent across all sleeve deals in the Premier League in 2026–27.
This includes the same brands for three of these clubs—Aston Villa, Everton, and Nottingham Forest—that appeared on the front of their shirts last season. Furthermore, betting brands are still spending $89.95 million on official sponsorship deals across the league this season, covering 17 of the 20 competing teams.
These partnerships mean that brand logos and advertisements continue to be seen inside stadiums on matchday and on LED perimeter boards by both live spectators and television audiences. The issue is further compounded by television broadcasts, where Premier League coverage remains heavily saturated with gambling-related commercials.
Ending prominent signage on the front of team shirts is a positive step, but if the Premier League and its clubs are serious about restricting visibility of gambling brands across its audiences, this must be a first step, rather than the only step taken.
For gambling brands, the Premier League represents a big global market for their business, and exploiting loopholes and alternative solutions to advertise their services to fans will continue until tighter rules and regulations are introduced.
| Team | 2025-26 Season Sponsor (Annual Value) | 2026-27 Season Sponsor (Annual Value) | New Partner Industry | History with Gambling Shirt Sponsors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFC Bournemouth | BJ88 ($10.34m*) | Vitality ($7m) | Financial services | 9 seasons since 2015-16 |
| Aston Villa | Betano ($24.74m*) | Visit Rwanda ($26.75m*) | Travel & tourism | 12 seasons since 2006-07 |
| Brentford | Hollywood Bets ($5.5m) | Indeed ($4m) | Business & consumer services | 9 seasons since 2015-16 |
| Burnley ® | 96.com ($2m) | Vertu ($1.2m) | Automotive | 12 seasons since 2010-11 |
| Crystal Palace | Net88 ($10m) | Temporal ($10m) | Technology, media & telecoms | 11 seasons since 2015-16 |
| Everton | Stake ($12.55m*) | CMC Markets ($22.51m*) | Financial services | 7 seasons since 2017-18 |
| Fulham | SBOPTOP ($11m) | ClickHouse ($9m) | Technology, media & telecoms | 10 seasons since 2013-14 |
| Nottingham Forest | Bally’s ($15m) | Marex ($11.29m*) | Financial services | 8 seasons since 2016-17 |
| Sunderland | W88 ($5m) | N/A | N/A | 13 seasons since 2010-11 |
| West Ham United ® | Boyle Sports ($16.46m*) | Boyle Sports ($4m) | Gambling | 17 seasons since 2008-09 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers ® | Debet ($12.72m*) | Midnite ($3.5m) | Gambling | 11 seasons since 2009-10 |
® = relegated from Premier League last season
*= estimated value
