Half of the Premier League’s 20 clubs now have sponsorship or advertising relationships with gambling companies that are not licensed in the UK, leaving a significant source of club revenue exposed to a proposed government ban expected next year.
The number of top-flight clubs with commercial links to unlicensed operators has increased from six to 10 over the summer. The rise comes as the Premier League begins its voluntary ban this season on gambling companies appearing as front-of-shirt sponsors.
An eight-week government consultation on proposals to prohibit sponsorship by gambling companies without UK licenses closed this week. The issue has put licensed operators including Ladbrokes and William Hill at odds with the Premier League, with tens of millions of pounds in club sponsorship income potentially at stake.
The Premier League is understood to be lobbying against the proposed prohibition, arguing that the services provided by the largely Asia-facing betting companies and online casinos involved are not available in the UK. However, users with a VPN can open an account and place a bet within minutes.
The debate also comes against a backdrop of expansion in Britain’s unregulated betting market. According to the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, unlicensed operators earned £379 million ($512.47 million) from UK users during the first half of 2025, accounting for 9% of Britain’s £8.2 billion ($11 billion) online gaming market. Their share was 2% in 2022.
The government has sought to restrict such operators because they are not required to provide protections, including affordability checks and spending limits that regulated betting companies must offer. Growth in the unregulated market has also been linked to financial harm, addiction and suicide.
Entain, which owns Ladbrokes and is one of the UK’s biggest betting companies, wrote this week to all 10 Premier League clubs linked to unlicensed operators. Its letter to Everton also referred to Prime Minister Andy Burnham, an Everton supporter who attended the club’s opening game of the season against Crystal Palace.
“The risk to football, sport integrity and society is real,” the letter states. “Unlicensed operators are not required to offer the safeguards that licensed operators must, including Gamstop self-exclusion, deposit and spending limits, and affordability checks. This removes the protections most likely to prevent consumer harm, meaning vulnerable customers unfairly pay the price for the partnerships that their clubs make.”
“Everton’s association with Stake.com is particularly at odds with the prime minister’s longstanding support for the club. It seems unimaginable that, having made his government’s opposition to unlicensed gambling agreements clear, Andy Burnham would become a billboard for unregulated gaming by wearing the club’s current strip.”
Everton recently announced a three-year sleeve sponsorship agreement with crypto casino Stake.com. Fulham, meanwhile, moved its SBOTOP sponsorship from players’ shirts to its training kit. Eight other clubs, including Chelsea and Tottenham, have agreements involving stadium perimeter advertising and/or player branding.
Another operator, 8XBet, is licensed on the Caribbean island of Curaçao and has agreements with Chelsea, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Ipswich and Coventry.
Gambling minister Vicky Foxcroft is understood to have told operators in correspondence that the government intends to introduce the ban next year, The Guardian reported. The Premier League is expected to press for existing agreements, including Everton’s Stake deal, to be allowed to continue until they expire.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2026/09/11/126370-premier-league-clubs-face-sponsorship-shakeup-as-uk-weighs-ban-on-unlicensed-gambling-deals
