Gambling advertising and sponsorships in football have been in the spotlight for several years.
While there is general agreement that it needs to be reduced, it brings in a lot of money for football clubs and that can’t be replaced easily.
So clubs are trying to maximise their income before the restrictions come in.
However, recent developments have cast doubt over specific gambling sponsorships in English football and whether some deals are now untenable.
Let’s take a look.
The Current State Of Play
English football is currently saturated with casino and betting brands, with logos on many team shirts from the Premier League down to the lower leagues.
However, what often goes under the radar is that not all these casino and betting sponsors are based in the UK or available to British players.
In some cases, the shirt sponsors are completely legal in the UK.
For example, many are independent casino sites which are casinos that have their own licence from the Gambling Commission.
These independent platforms are legit for British players, with the ownership being completely transparent and accessible from within the commission’s records.
Other shirt sponsors operate within the UK through what’s known as a white-label agreement.
These arrangements allow multiple casinos, potentially with different owners, to operate under a single Gambling Commission licence.
The white label provider owns this licence and launches and manages these various brands simultaneously.
While these operations remain legal within the UK, their ownership structure isn’t as transparent as that of independently licensed sites.
In some instances, certain casinos and betting sites featured on English football shirts cannot be legally accessed by British players.
That’s because they don’t have the necessary licence to operate in the UK.
Instead, they use football’s global appeal to promote themselves to international players.
For these companies, the visibility gained through English football sponsorship serves as marketing to players in other regions worldwide.
Recent Deals Under The Spotlight
Several high-profile football gambling sponsorships have recently attracted media attention – for all the wrong reasons.
For example, the BBC reported that Everton’s shirt sponsor, a casino operating under a white-label agreement, has decided to surrender its UK licence.
This effectively means the brand is no longer legally accessible to British players despite remaining prominently displayed on the team’s kit.
Yet Everton isn’t alone in this situation; Nottingham Forest and Leicester City also have non-UK gambling sponsors on their shirts.
Due to English football’s domestic appeal, this creates a conflict of interest as UK residents are exposed to casino brands that are not available to them.
The result is a confusing scenario in which fans might attempt to access these sites despite them being unavailable simply because they’ve seen them promoted by their favourite clubs.
Even with these concerns, Everton has reportedly indicated no plans to replace their current shirt sponsor.
Leicester City has remained silent, while Nottingham Forest has maintained their non-UK gambling shirt sponsor since the 2023-24 season.
This disconnect between what British fans see on shirts and what’s legally available to them raises questions about the future of these football sponsorships.
Gambling Commission’s Response
The Gambling Commission has written directly to all three clubs to warn them about their responsibilities related to the promotion of unlicensed gambling.
This includes ensuring that proper due diligence has been done while also ensuring that British players cannot access unlicensed casino sites.
The latter part is particularly interesting because it could mean implementing tools that go beyond blocking a website.
For example, it’s been suggested that clubs may be required to demand that non-UK sponsors prevent British players from visiting their sites even if they use virtual private networks (VPNs) or other tools to hide their location.
This would be particularly difficult and a risk for the clubs if easily circumvented.
However, the most telling part of the report was the possible consequences of promoting unlawful gambling websites.
The BBC reported that the Gambling Commission would warn these clubs that their officers could face unlimited fines and prison sentences of just under one year if found guilty.
Future Of English Football Gambling Sponsorships
After these recent developments, many are questioning the status of casino and betting sponsorships in football.
For now, independently operated casinos with their licences appear relatively safe.
The potential for conflicts of interest with these types of companies remains low, as very few give up their UK licences, ensuring they remain accessible to British players.
The outlook is less certain for white-label agreements and particularly non-UK licensed sponsors.
With the Gambling Commission’s strict requirements preventing British players from accessing non-UK sites – and the potential consequences of non-compliance – clubs may ultimately decide that the regulatory risks and negative publicity outweigh the financial benefits of these partnerships.
Regardless, these sponsorships in English football face an inevitable reduction.
The Premier League has already agreed to ban gambling companies as main shirt sponsors from the 2026-27 season onwards.
However, this comes with significant caveats – notably that they will still be permitted to be displayed on shirt sleeves and advertising boards.
Also, the ban only applies to Premier League clubs, with lower divisions still free to continue featuring casino and betting logos as main shirt sponsors.
Therefore, the Gambling Commission’s position will be key in the future.
If they tackle non-UK gambling sponsors in English football hard, this could well lead to a big decline that would hit clubs from top to bottom.
