SBC SUMMIT BARCELONA
Russ Yershon Director Connecting Brands
UNITED KINDGOM
Earlier this year the Premier League decided to proactively announce that following a meeting with its members (the current Premier League clubs) that from the end of season 2025/2026 that they will no longer allow sports betting or casino brands to be a front of shirt sponsor of Premier League clubs. How significant is this and what impact is the decision likely to have?
Tis decision was a smart one, some may say, as within a month of this announcement happening, the government released the long overdue white paper, which gave new and updated guidance on advertising by sportsbook brands in the UK. Te white paper also included other elements of knowing your customer better and stricter rules on proof of funds.
So, as we look forward to season 23/24 in the Premier League, it will be interesting to see how many new brands come into the market from the Sports betting space to take an available shirt sponsorship of a Premier League club, or whether it will be existing brands who will once again retain their sponsorship or move clubs.
Although it had been spoke about for a number of years, ultimately it was a significant decision by the Premier League to announce that it’s members would not be taking gaming operators on it’s front of shirts from season 2026/27.
Te impact this will have is likely to mean that for Premier League clubs who finish 11th - 17th and then the newly promoted clubs could well find it hard to get the kind of Commercial fee for a brand to be on the front of their shirt, than they could have with a gaming operator.
For gambling operators this is a blow to those who are regularly sponsoring Premier League teams and they will now have to find ways to reach their target audience.
Premier League clubs can be comforted that they are still able to accept gambling operators to have their logo on the sleeve of their shirt from season 2026/27 which, for these operators, enables them to have kit brand, so the impact of not having front of shirt, can be eased slightly.
I believe the value of the sleeve branding for Premier League clubs will rise once the front of
P132 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
Premier League clubs can be comforted that they are still able to accept gambling operators to have their logo on the sleeve of their shirt from season 2026/27 which, for these operators, enables them to have kit brand, so the impact of not having front of shirt, can be eased slightly. I believe the value of the sleeve branding for Premier League clubs will rise once the front of shirt sponsorship kicks in as this on kit branding opportunity will be a high commodity for operators. My view is that you could see up to half the Premier League club having operators becoming their sleeve partner.
shirt sponsorship kicks in as this on kit branding opportunity will be a high commodity for operators. My view is that you could see up to half the Premier League club having operators becoming their sleeve partner.
For operators, they will still be able to have key assets such as LED and branding on interview back drops as well as player access for content, social media branding, plus ticket and hospitality allocations.
Outside of the Premier League, Sky Bet have just announced an extension to their sponsorship of the EFL until the end of the 2028/29 season Tis new five-year deal is likely to be good for the EFL clubs to give them good revenue, plus from season 23/24 they are also allowed to add a sleeve partner to their kit; however, this can’t be from the betting sector at all.
Teams in the EFL (Championship, League 1 and League 2) can have a Sports Betting brand on the front of their shirt, however one keynote here is that when it comes to the LED (Perimeter advertising) how ever many minutes the sportsbook brand has, this has to be matched by Sky Bet, in addition to the contracted minutes as League sponsor.
How do UK-facing operators typically utilise brand partnerships/sponsorships?
Looking at how to operators typically use brand partnerships and sponsorships, this covers several areas. Looking at Premier League clubs which have gaming operators on the front of their shirt. Tese operators are aiming for awareness and trust in regions around the world and mainly Asia.
Te operators use the Premier League shirt partnership as a way of reaching millions of sports fans across Asia who consume the Premier League every week.
Plus, the LED (Electric Perimeter Boards) around the pitch and the interview media back drop where brands logos are shown are huge awareness drivers for brands, given the coverage here is strong.
Being able to use the IP (image rights) of the
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