In a move to reduce betting advertising in sports in the UK, Premier League clubs have collectively agreed to withdraw gambling sponsorship from the front of clubs’ match day shirts.
The Premier League on Thursday announced that its clubs have agreed to remove all gambling companies as sponsors on the front of players’ jerseys by the end of the 2025/2026 season.
A Premier League statement read: “Premier League clubs have today collectively agreed to withdraw gambling sponsorship from the front of clubs’ match day shirts, becoming the first sports league in the UK to take such a measure voluntarily in order to reduce gambling advertising.
“The announcement follows an extensive consultation involving the League, its clubs and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport as part of the Government’s ongoing review of current gambling legislation.
“The Premier League is also working with other sports on the development of a new code for responsible gambling sponsorship. To assist clubs with their transition away from shirt-front gambling sponsorship, the collective agreement will begin at the end of the 2025/26 season.”
There are eight clubs that currently have gambling sponsors on the front of their shirts, and they are: Bournemouth, Brentford, Everton, Fulham, Leeds, Newcastle, Southampton and West Ham, with an estimated value of £60m per annum.
The Premier League is reportedly the first to voluntarily do this, while several major European soccer leagues have instituted similar measures in recent years.
Italian Serie A clubs have been prohibited from using gambling companies for main shirt sponsors since 2019, when the country’s government passed a new set of laws, on the other hand Spain’s La Liga has had similar measures in place since 2021.
It is understood that clubs supported the move in order to avoid government legislation from banning it completely.
Current sponsorship deals with betting companies will remain in place for the next three years.
Gambling companies however will still be allowed as shirt sleeve sponsors, with just front of shirt adverts banned, as well as through signage in stadiums.
