Starting from the 2026-27 season, the Premier League will officially implement a ban on gambling advertisements on the front of jerseys, marking the end of a sponsorship model that has continued for over twenty years. This season, 11 out of 20 clubs still have gambling companies as their main shirt sponsors, including Aston Villa, Everton, and West Ham United. The industry anticipates that the ban will create an annual revenue shortfall of over £100 million, with smaller clubs particularly feeling the financial strain.
Since Fulham pioneered the practice in 2002 by partnering with Betfair, gambling sponsorship has gradually become an important source of income for mid-tier and promoted teams. Data shows that in the 2013-14 season, only two clubs had gambling front sponsors, but in the last two seasons, this proportion has exceeded half, and even Championship promoted teams commonly sign gambling sponsorships in advance. Ironically, the Championship league, due to Sky Bet being the official sponsor, still allows gambling advertisements, with the case of Stoke City's owner's gambling company BET365 highlighting the policy differences between the two leagues.
Compared to traditional powerhouses, smaller clubs are the most impacted. Top clubs like Liverpool, Manchester United, and Manchester City, with long-term non-gambling contracts such as banks and airlines, can earn up to £60 million per year from shirt front advertising; whereas mid-tier teams' gambling sponsorship offers are usually between £8 million and £10 million, with non-gambling brand offers 30%-50% lower. Although gambling companies can still gain exposure through sleeve and training kit sponsorships, these positions offer limited value and are hard to compensate for the loss of front shirt advertising.
Some clubs are already facing real difficulties. Aston Villa's annual £14 million gambling sponsorship revenue is about to disappear, and they are already in a tough spot under the Financial Fair Play framework; Everton's record-breaking cryptocurrency gambling contract signed in 2022 is also expiring, with no new sponsor yet confirmed.
However, there are new opportunities within the crisis. The Premier League's global influence continues to attract traditional industries such as automotive, finance, aviation, IT, as well as emerging fields like fintech, cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, and tourism. Second-hand car platforms like Cazoo and Cinch have tried sports marketing, and cryptocurrency brands have had successful precedents in F1 and Serie A. Additionally, a localized strategy could be a breakthrough direction—partnerships between the English Cricket League and local brands like CTM and KP Snacks provide a viable reference for the Premier League.
The exit of gambling ads is essentially a response to industry chaos. In the first round of this season's Premier League, gambling-related information exceeded 30,000 messages, three times that of the same period last year, raising widespread concerns about addiction. West Ham United's former sponsor was fined £400,000 for targeting advertisements at children, Everton's partner withdrew from the UK market due to controversial promotions, and several teams were warned for promoting illegal gambling sites in Southeast Asia, all reflecting the failure of self-regulation in gambling.
Although front shirt advertising is about to be "purified," gambling brands can still maintain exposure through stadium advertisements, interview backdrops, and sleeves. To achieve complete isolation, stricter regulatory policies from the government are still needed.
The Premier League stands at a crossroads of commercial restructuring. How to help smaller clubs develop new sponsorship sources and balance financial pressures while fulfilling social responsibilities will directly determine whether the league can maintain its global commercial leadership position in the "post-gambling era."
