UK: EPL clubs announce kit betting sponsorships ahead of ban
With the English Premier League’s (EPL) ban on matchday front-of-shirt betting sponsorships set to come into force with the upcoming 2026/27 season, many clubs with existing betting sponsorships have been left in an uncomfortable situation. Two Premier League clubs, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur, have recently announced betting sponsorship deals that are in compliance with regulations, even with the upcoming ban.
Everton and Stake agree to new matchday kits partnership
Everton, a club which has had the Stake brand featured on the front of its matchday shirts since 2022 as part of what was the club’s highest-value front-of-shirt deal in its history, has now agreed to a new deal where Stake’s branding will instead be featured on the sleeves of its matchday kits.
In an announcement going over the agreement, Everton stated that Stake will become the club’s “new Official Sleeve Partner from the start of the 2026/27 season as part of a multi-year agreement”.
The football club described the agreement as “groundbreaking”, and added that, as its official sleeve partner, Stake will also feature across the team’s matchday and digital channels, with branding visible at both the men’s and women’s stadiums, as well as the training ground.
Everton and Stake stated that they will continue to ensure that all partnership activity is “delivered responsibly and in full compliance with relevant regulations, industry standards, and marketing requirements”.
The aforementioned betting sponsorship restrictions apply only to clubs competing in the EPL, the top flight of the English footballing pyramid. This means that clubs competing at a lower level, including the Championship, which is the league immediately below the Premier League, will still be allowed to feature gambling brands on the front of their matchday kits.
Additionally, clubs in the Premier League will still be able to feature such branding on the front of their training kits, as Tottenham Hotspur has agreed to do with Kaizen Gaming’s Betano brand.
Tottenham’s training kit betting sponsorship agreement
In the announcement of their agreement with Kaizen Gaming, Tottenham stated that in addition to featuring on their training kits, Betano will also become the club’s “Official Betting Partner in Europe and LatAm through to 2029” following the 2026/27 season.
As part of the agreement, Betano will feature on media backdrops, pitch-side LEDs, and big screens during matches at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the second-largest Premier League club stadium by capacity, behind only Manchester United’s Old Trafford. This subsequently makes it one of the largest stadiums in European football overall.
Most of the clubs in the Premier League this past season featured gambling brands on the front of their kits, and a number of those clubs have already confirmed that they have agreed to new sponsorship deals with non-betting brands.
That said, Everton and Tottenham’s new agreements signal that more clubs may be interested in trying to find ways to maintain partnerships connected to the gambling industry and still be in compliance with the new regulations.
Championship clubs, including relegated EPL teams, secure betting sponsorships
Meanwhile, West Ham, who were relegated and will be playing in the Championship next season, have confirmed that the BOYLE Sports branding will continue to feature on the front of their kits, as they are no longer subject to the impending ban.
As covered in the latest edition of SiGMA News’ Industry Reels, betting sponsorships in the Championship are quite commonplace, as UK betting brand Midnite recently announced new partnerships with Sheffield United and Middlesbrough.
Additionally, Wolverhampton Wanderers, who have just been relegated from the Premier League to the Championship, will also feature Midnite’s branding on their matchday kits, under an agreement that would not have been permitted had Wolves managed to stay in the EPL.
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