With the 2025/26 English Premier League season well underway, it’s noticeable that 11 of the 20 competing teams have a gambling shirt sponsor.
This is the exact same number as the previous campaign, while it’s up from an average of nine between 2018/19 and 2023/24. However, clubs have agreed to withdraw all gambling sponsorship from the front of their matchday shirts from the 2026/27 season onwards, creating a potentially significant reduction in total commercial revenues.
This new rule was announced back in April 2023, but how much will actually change once it has finally been implemented? We’ll explore this further in the article below.
Betting and the EPL – A Lucrative Commercial Relationship
Back in 2005, the Gambling Act established a regulatory framework that enabled online sports betting to thrive. Ever since, betting brands have played an increasingly prominent role in the English Premier League, with more than 50% of top-flight clubs now sponsored by entities such as Ladbrokes, Betway and Parimatch.
Remember, you can already access hundreds of Premier League odds and match betting markets online, meaning that football fans now interact with betting brands on a daily basis.
At the beginning of the 2025/26 season, the overall EPL front-of-shirt market was worth $525.4 million. Unsurprisingly, gambling brands account for $129.6 million (or 24.6%) of this annual revenue, most of which comes from clubs outside the traditional big six.
Of course, the big six are almost in a league of their own from a commercial perspective. This means that they’re able to generate tens of millions each season without the help of highly profitable gambling brands, instead relying on their global commercial appeal and large corporate structures.
So, clubs outside of the big six have increasingly turned to the high-growth gambling market to boost their own sponsorship revenue and become more competitive. This has enabled them to become more profitable over time and to increase the quality of players they can invest in.
What Will Change in 2026/27?
The decision to prohibit front-of-shirt sponsorship by betting brands was announced in April 2023, after concerns were raised about problem gambling and its social harms. It was revealed that the ban would take effect ahead of the 2026/27 season, affecting more than 50% of all current EPL sides.
From next season, eleven EPL clubs will have to remove gambling brands from the front of their shirts completely. They’ll have to agree to replacement sponsorship deals too, potentially resulting in an initial short-term reduction in their commercial revenues.
This is because gambling operators have always been asked to pay a significant premium on standard industry rates. When West Ham shareholder Karren Brady participated in a House of Lords debate on football governance last November, she revealed that the “typical difference between gambling and non-gambling shirt sponsorships is around 40%”.
Although this precise figure has been disputed, it’s widely accepted that the decision to prohibit front-of-shirt gambling advertising will cause some clubs to lose up to 20% of their total revenue. This may prove particularly challenging for some Premier League sides outside the big six, especially for smaller, commercially oriented outfits like Bournemouth and Brentford.
How Will Affected Clubs Deal With This Shortfall?
In terms of negating this shortfall in revenue, the answer may lie in the wording of the new regulation. This is restricted to front-of-shirt sponsorship only and doesn’t affect shirt sleeves, shorts, or the kit worn during training sessions.
So, it’s possible for clubs to offset their initial losses by retaining sponsorships with gambling companies and displaying branding elsewhere on their matchday shirts. Commercially bigger clubs who are affected by the ban (such as Everton and West Ham) could also follow the trail initially blazed by Manchester United, by selling sponsorship on their training kits to interested betting brands.
Some clubs have already responded by adjusting the nature of their offer and choice of gambling partners. In the case of Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest, for example, owners have struck hidden partnership deals with Asian-facing operators like Bally’s.
These entities are unlicensed in the UK and based offshore, while they target international markets in China and both South and East Asia. This is a controversial approach that the authorities may also look to clamp down on, especially if the motivation is to reduce the visible presence of betting brands in the industry.
In La Liga, a similar ban saw clubs switch to sponsors in the financial services industry. Many EPL clubs are likely to follow this path too in the future, as this will minimize potential sponsorship losses across the board.
