Five Premier League clubs have been found to be in clear breach of sponsorship rules aimed at protecting those who partake in gambling.
It was announced back in July, that the Premier League, EFL, FA and Women’s Super League, agreed to tighten their restrictions around the use of gambling sponsorship in football. Front-of-shirt sponsorships are set to be banned from the 2025/26 season in order to help try and curb the problems brought on by the sport.
However, some of England's top-flight clubs are continuing to cash in before then, with eleven clubs sporting gambling companies on their short fronts this season, including Leicester City and Nottingham Forest.
Five Premier League clubs do not sell replica shirts without gambling sponsors on the front, new data reveals
Eleven of the 20 Premier League clubs have betting companies as their shirt sponsor this season, with the Asian market a clear target for fans sporting their team's colours.
Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Everton, Fulham, Leicester, Nottingham Forest, Southampton, West Ham and Wolves are all guilty parties when it comes to their choice of front-of-shirt sponsorship for the 2024/25 season.
No rules prevent them from doing so at present, with it clear the lucrative amounts of money done so to place their brand too good for some Premier League clubs to turn down.
However, gambling sponsors are not permitted on replica children’s kits and all clubs should also ensure that a sponsor-free version is also available to buy for adults, but for some clubs, this is not the case.
The rules read: “Ensuring that mechanisms exist to enable supporters to have the ability to purchase adult replica kits that do not include gambling sponsorship logos, in the event that they are not otherwise available for purchase.”
However, after being contacted by the Pitch Inspection, five clubs – Aston Villa (Betano), Everton (Stake.com), Fulham (SBOTOP), Nottingham Forest (Kaiyun) and Southampton (Rollbit) – do not offer replica adult kits that come without gambling sponsors on them.
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Responding to the news, The Big Step – a group campaigning for the end of gambling sponsorship in football – wrote: “This is yet more evidence that football can't be trusted on gambling – it's time for the government to end this nonsense.”
Many clubs were approached for comment on the matter but did not respond or state that the printing of their home shirt goes hand-in-hand with their sponsorship dealings.
