Scotland stands firm while EFL heads support Premier League sponsorship ban
Following the Premier League’s decision to ban gambling shirt sponsors last week, there has been further fallout from all corners of football
After Premier League clubs agreed to voluntarily ban front-of-shirt gambling sponsorship from the 2026-27 season last week, the landmark decision has sent shockwaves through the UK football pyramid, most notably in the English Football League (EFL) and Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL).
Following the decision, attention turned to whether the SPFL would follow the Premier League’s lead and bring in the ban north of the border.
At the time of writing, three Scottish Premier League clubs have front-of-shirt betting partners. Celtic with Dafabet, Rangers with 32Red and Dundee United with QuinnCasino.
The SPFL has since said there are no plans to follow the Premier League’s lead and stressed to BBC Scotland that “individual sponsorships are a matter for each club”.
An SPFL spokesperson said: “For many SPFL clubs, sponsorship from gambling companies is a significant source of income which helps to support their business models and enables investment in many of the important community activities which clubs undertake.”
Moving to the EFL, where Sky Bet currently sponsors the Championship, League One and League Two, Coventry City owner Doug King has stated that the Sky Blues will no longer have a front-of-shirt gambling sponsor from next season.
Coventry City currently sport Irish bookmaker BoyleSports on the front of their shirts and have been partnered with the operator since 2020. The deal is set to end following the conclusion of the 2022-23 season.
Fans asked King at a recent Coventry City Supporters Forum if the club planned to ditch BoyleSports once the deal ended.
King confirmed that BoyleSports would not be returning to the front of Coventry’s shirts, with the owner adding that he “won’t have a gambling company on shirts while I am owner and would rather have no one sponsor at all”.
Also in the Championship, Swansea manager Russell Martin has welcomed the Premier League’s decision.
Martin said: “I think there’s enough money in the Premier League right now for everyone to function and to sustain themselves and to enjoy themselves a little bit.”
Martin went on to say that he expects to be criticised for his views on gambling advertising but he believes it is a social issue.
He explained: “I’m not convinced they [the gambling firms] need the extra money that you get they from it – albeit, I’m aware we’re in a competition that’s sponsored by a betting company, so I’ll probably get criticised for that. We are talking about social responsibility for such a worldwide product. It needs to do its bit.
“So, the fact that they’re finally doing that is good and I’m pretty sure all the clubs involved will go and find a sponsor that is willing to give them, if not as much money, then somewhere close,” Martin added.