Premier League clubs to ditch front-of-shirt gambling sponsors by 2026

Premier League clubs have agreed to remove front-of-shirt gambling sponsorship from the beginning of the 2026-27 season.

In a major, but ultimately expected decision, the top tier of English football will become the first UK sports league to remove gambling sponsors from premium shirt space.

All 20 clubs collectively agreed to voluntarily withdraw the sponsorship following a vote today, 13 April.

The confirmation comes after extensive consultation with the Premier League, the clubs and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport as part of the white paper into the Gambling Act 2005 review.

The Premier League said it was also working with other sports on the development of a new code for responsible gambling sponsorship.

The grace period for the remainder of the 2022-23 season, along with 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26, will allow both the clubs and gambling firms time to assess their strategies moving forwards.

It is expected that clubs will still be able to retain gambling partners, but these will be restricted to sleeve sponsors and in-stadia advertising.

At the time of writing, eight Premier League clubs have front-of-shirt gambling sponsors.

West Ham hold a partnership with Betway stretching back to 2015 while Everton boast crypto operator Stake on their shirts.

Bournemouth, Brentford, Fulham, Leeds, Newcastle and Southampton make up the other six sides with front-of-shirt gambling sponsors.

Wolves are currently the only side with a gambling sleeve sponsorship in the shape of 12Bet, with the vast majority of clubs having a gambling partner or partners.

Many of the gambling sponsors on Premier League kits are Asia-facing operators who use the league as a shop window for audiences watching the action in the Far East.

The removal of front-of-shirt sponsorship is expected to be one of the headline changes to gambling policy in the UK as part of the white paper.