The Premier League has taken a radical measure that could drastically affect its clubs. By 26/27, no team can have a betting company as a sponsor on the front of their kits.
According to estimates from the economic sector, this could generate a loss of approximately 100 million pounds per year (115 million euros).
Betting companies have financed the competition for more than two decades. Now the Premier League teams must look for other alternatives to make profits in the advertising section.
In 2023, the clubs implemented it voluntarily amid an environment of increasing social and political pressure in the United Kingdom on the gambling industry, setting an ethical and social responsibility precedent.
Betting companies may be on the sleeves
It should be noted that the disappearance of betting companies on the front of the shirts does not mean the total cancellation of the agreements between the clubs and these companies. Logos may appear on the sleeves or on supports inside the stadiums.
However, George Isherwood, director of global partnerships at the Sportquake agency, believes that the Premier League can take advantage of its international appeal to face the change with new sponsors.
11 of the 20 Premier League clubs are affected by this measure
The fact that betting companies will no longer sponsor the Premier League from next season is not a minor impact measure.
It is worth highlighting that 11 of the 20 clubs that play this new season of the top category of English football are financed by betting companies.
Among those are Aston Villa, Everton, West Ham or Wolverhampton, who are not part of the 'Big Six'. Obviously, given this resolution, their income will be drastically affected. According to specialists, this can generate losses of up to 50% in some cases.
LaLiga had already anticipated the Premier League
Betting companies no longer sponsoring football is nothing new. In Spain it was applied in November 2020; Royal Decree 958/2020, published in the Official State Gazette (BOE), is the one that "regulates the conditions of gambling operators to develop their advertising, sponsorship and promotion activities".
This decree affected sponsorship agreements for shirts, billboards and any other format in LaLiga. The clubs had to terminate their contracts with betting companies and had to look for other options to generate income.
Now, with the 1:1 rule, the absence of gambling operators as sponsors has complicated the process of registering players for the clubs.