- The Premier League shareholders are expected to vote to ban the sponsors
- Compromise is set to be reached where gambling firms can appear on sleeves
- Aston Villa CEO Christian Purslow has said that gambling firms simply pay more
Premier League clubs will vote on Thursday on a voluntary ban on front-of-shirt gambling sponsors, which are currently worth a combined £52million.
Eight top-flight clubs have betting firms as their main shirt sponsor, with Everton (Stake) and West Ham (Betway) having the most lucrative deals at £10m per season.
It is expected that the proposal will be passed by the League’s shareholders, with the compromise being that gambling companies are allowed as a sleeve sponsor. This move is to avoid Government legislation that would prevent gambling advertising completely.
The ban would come into force from the start of the 2026-27 season, giving clubs three years to renegotiate deals with non-betting sponsors.
Given none of the current agreements run beyond 2025, there should be no contractual issues. However, the reason so many Premier League clubs continue to use betting companies is that they pay more than other sponsors.
The Premier League shareholders are expected to put a voluntary ban in place on front-of-shirt gambling sponsors
© Provided by Daily Mail
And with gambling firms likely to be removed from the market, it could reduce the value of the shirt sponsorship deals further for clubs outside the elite.
Aston Villa chief executive Christian Purslow said: ‘The commercial reality is that to teams outside the top six, such sponsors offer clubs twice as much financially as non-gambling companies.’
Newcastle switched from Wonga to Fun888 in 2017 when they offered around £1m per year more, although the club are set to ditch the gambling company this summer in favour of a Middle East-based sponsor.
But others, such as Southampton and Brentford, could struggle to find deals more lucrative than the ones they have now with Sportsbet (£8m) and Hollywoodbets (£4m) respectively.