Gambling sponsors in football

The football industry – dominated by the riches of the Premier League - and the betting industry have been in a growing relationship since Fulham became the first club to display a betting company on their shirt fronts (Betfair) at the start of the 2002/2003 season. 

However, at the inauguration of the Premier League in 1992 household brands and retailers were the order of the day, think Pizza Hut for Fulham and Draper Tools for Southampton, while alcohol adorned the shirts of Liverpool (Carlsberg) and Spurs (Holsten). Not a single club was associated with gambling.

The growth of gambling

However, the growing influence of betting companies has been prevalent in the last decade in particular, with over half the Premier League clubs in the 2024/2025 season sporting betting sponsors on their shirt fronts (the highest proportion of the top five leagues in Europe) while every Premier League club has at least one betting partner. Curiously, in the Premier League, only Chelsea had no shirt sponsor due to fans petitioning to stop a link up with an online casino. 

In the Premier League last season gambling sponsorship generated over £100 million in income for those clubs working alongside betting sponsors although this doesn’t include the six richest clubs (Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs, Liverpool, Man City, Manchester United) given gambling companies saw a ceiling to how much they were willing to invest, knowing teams outside this select group would provide better value and regularly be broadcast playing those rich teams.

This is not reflected in the lower reaches of the English Football League (Leagues 1 and 2) where not a single club last season had gambling firms adorning their shirts, no surprise given the global reach of the Premier League and the huge marketplace the gambling companies are targeting online. They are not pursuing the money of the fans wearing the shirts, but the wider global audience, where placing an online bet is often seen as a trivial, everyday action. 

The growing problem with gambling

Unsurprisingly, the increasing visibility of gambling within a globally popular sport such as football has generated significant debate, particularly in relation to gambling addiction and the financial difficulties experienced by some individuals. In a sport followed by large numbers of children and young people, the promotion of betting by high‑profile players and clubs raises ethical concerns. The wider risk is that gambling becomes normalised among younger audiences, a trend that is potentially reinforced by Premier League clubs’ commercial relationships with betting operators.

The winds of change

Somewhat inevitably, a change will take place at the end of the current 2025/2026 season when front of shirt gambling brands will no longer be allowed, save for those contracts that were already in place before the rule change in 2023 (agreed between the clubs, the Premier League and the Department for Culture Media & Sport). As such, this will fall in line with the previous ban on alcohol shirt sponsorship and align with many of the top European leagues.

The future

So, what happens next? Previous restrictions, such as the ban on alcohol sponsorship, did not cause those industries to collapse, and a similar outcome is likely for gambling companies. Shirt-sleeve sponsorships and stadium advertising are not affected by the current ban, and gambling operators will continue to access digital channels, which remain widely used by Generation Z.

The sponsorship space vacated on team shirts is likely to be taken up by organisations in sectors such as digital media, financial technology, or cryptocurrency-related services.

Another possible outcome can be seen in Belgium. After a comparable ban on gambling advertising was introduced, Club Brugge replaced its shirt sponsor Unibet with U-Experts, a non-gambling news application. While the app itself does not promote gambling, it is supported by Unibet and includes links to its online casino platform.

How we can help 

Our Forensic Services team have worked on a significant number of Sporting Disputes; we are always happy to have an initial no obligation discussion on any matters where we can add value and advice. For further information, please contact your usual Crowe contact.