As the new Premier League season approaches, an era is about to end: starting from the 2026-27 season, the front of the jerseys of top English league players will no longer feature gambling sponsorship logos. This means that over twenty years of financial support from gambling will come to an end, creating a commercial revenue gap of about 100 million pounds (approximately 135 million US dollars) for Premier League clubs, especially mid-tier teams.
Currently, more than half of the 20 Premier League teams have gambling companies as their main sponsors. In the future, gambling logos can still appear on jersey sleeves, pitch-side billboards, and training gear, but forecasts show that some sponsorship contracts may be worth only half as much, and in the first year of the ban, some clubs' front-of-shirt sponsorship fees might only be a quarter of what they were before. For mid-tier teams, this means they must find new commercial partnerships to maintain financial balance.
Teams still in partnership with gambling companies this season include Aston Villa, Everton, West Ham United, Wolves, Nottingham Forest, Fulham, Crystal Palace, Brentford, Bournemouth, Burnley, and Sunderland. Fulham and Aston Villa have already accumulated partnerships with seven gambling companies; West Ham United has been in a long-term partnership with an online gambling platform since 2015. For these teams, gambling sponsorship has always been the most profitable and convenient option.
However, in 2023, the UK government reviewed gambling regulations, and Premier League clubs faced pressure to reduce gambling advertising, ultimately agreeing unanimously to remove gambling logos from the front of jerseys. This has also been a long-standing call from anti-gambling groups, aimed at curbing problem gambling.
Despite facing a revenue gap, Premier League clubs still have the opportunity to continue collaborating with the gambling industry through jersey sleeves, training gear, and event brand exposure. Industry experts point out that short-term sponsorship income may decline, but in the long term, the Premier League's international exposure and market influence can still attract sponsorships from the finance, aviation, technology, and tourism industries.
It is worth noting that the impact on top clubs is minimal: Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, and others have already signed long-term non-gambling sponsorship contracts; Tottenham and Chelsea maintain cooperation with financial and insurance brands. Mid-tier teams such as Aston Villa, Everton, and Sunderland, however, need to find new front-of-shirt sponsors in a short time to fill the void left by gambling revenue.
Over the past decade, gambling sponsorship has rapidly become widespread in the Premier League, but it has been continuously controversial: from illegal advertising on children's segments to unlicensed website promotions, the potential harm of the gambling industry to young people and fans has attracted regulatory attention. Even with the exit of front-of-shirt ads, Premier League venues are still filled with gambling elements—sleeves, billboards, and media exposure still display tens of thousands of gambling messages.
Industry insiders believe that the future sponsorship landscape of the Premier League will tend towards diversification, with different industries jointly filling the income gap left by the exit of gambling. Financial technology, cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence, and the tourism industry are all seen as potential new sponsors. In the short term, clubs may face revenue fluctuations, but in the long term, the Premier League still holds top commercial appeal in the global sports market.
