Premier League Ban Pushing Betting Sponsors to Deals in Other Areas

A number of betting sponsorships have been announced in English football this month, with these agreements still seeming commonplace despite the ban on front-of-shirt sponsorship in the Premier League.

In the Premier League, AFC Bournemouth announced a new three-year partnership with MrQ Casino, with the operator’s logo to appear on the sleeve of the men’s first-team shirt and on adult retail shirts. MrQ, which brands itself as “the casino you love to hate”, will also be an official partner of Bournemouth’s women’s team.

Deals further down

One league below in the Championship meanwhile, Midnite has extended its training kit sponsorship with Southampton for both the men’s and women’s teams. The partnership has been expanded, with Midnite’s logo also set to appear on the back of shirt and the shorts for the men’s team in matches next season.

This followed sponsorship announcements Midnite recently made regarding three other Championship clubs. The operator will be principal partner of Middlesbrough and Wolverhampton Wanderers, with those deals covering front-of-shirt sponsorship, and Midnite will also continue as front-of-shirt sponsor of Sheffield United for a second season.

Moving down a league further, League One club Leicester City recently extended its front-shirt sponsorship deal with BC.Game. This partnership will continue into its third season, having originally begun as a Premier League partnership when Leicester were playing in that league.

Premier League ban in place

From the start of the 2026/27 season, which begins in August, the Premier League will implement a voluntary ban on front-of-shirt sponsorships for gambling operators. However, gambling brands will still be allowed to appear on the teams’ sleeves, and teams will still be able to have partnerships with gambling brands.

The ban does not apply to all leagues below the Premier League, and the recent deals seen in the English Football League, which encompasses the three leagues below the Premier League, could be a sign of operators being pushed down to those leagues instead. Sky Bet is the title sponsor of the Football League.

Despite the front-of-shirt sponsorship ban, a majority of Premier League clubs are still partnered with gambling companies in some way, including sleeve sponsors, training kit partnerships, official betting partnerships and regional betting partnerships.

While Midnite is making a splash in the Championship, West Ham United and Stoke City have continued their front-of-shirt partnerships with BoyleSports and Bet365 respectively.

Black market worries

In March, Entain CEO Stella David urged the Premier League to ban unlicensed gambling operators from appearing on its teams’ shirts, after the UK government announced it was considering a ban of unlicensed operator sponsorship across British sport. Going into the 2026/27 season, it is still possible for unlicensed operators to appear on teams’ kits outside the front-of-shirt area.

Last season, 11 of the league’s 20 teams had the front of their shirts sponsored by gambling brands; six of those included brands that were not licensed by the Gambling Commission in Great Britain.

The government held a consultation on sports sponsorship in the spring, with a view to banning unlicensed gambling sponsorship of all British sports teams, aiming to mitigate the risks associated with the illegal market.

David wrote:

“Entain welcomes the government’s announcement that it will consult on a blanket ban on such advertising. But a consultation will take months to complete, meanwhile clubs will be under pressure to order playing strips for next season. The Premier League must therefore act now, banning these operators that target vulnerable UK consumers.”