More than half of Premier League clubs are set to lose a combined £126,650,000 from their front of shirt sponsorship when casino and gambling brands are outlawed.
New research by OLBG on UK casino sites has found that 57.9% of clubs (11 out of a possible 19) currently rely on casino or gambling brands for front of shirt sponsorship. Chelsea are currently the only club without a front of shirt sponsor at the time of writing but that could soon change once new regulations take effect.
Just over 15% of Premier League clubs this season use Finance brands, with Technology and Events and Entertainment also making up a small percentage. Travel and Tourism brands make up just over 10%, while Ed Sheeran’s sponsorship of Ipswich is unique.
In total, Premier League clubs are set to generate £428,150,000 through sponsorship on the front of their shirts this season, with 29.6% of this total coming directly from casino sites and gambling brands via 11 clubs.
OLBG’s analysis of casino sites estimates the sponsorship deals of the 11 Premier League clubs with a betting firm on the front of their shirts are valued at more than £126m of annual revenue; revenue which the clubs would need to replace by the beginning of the 2026/27 season.
The 11 clubs who now use casino or gambling brands as their front of shirt sponsor brought in just over 6.7m fans to their home games in the 2023/24 season. Betway has the highest earning potential, with their sponsorship of West Ham worth approximately £63,779,090.
Using the OLBG Gambling Study 2023, which found that the average gambler in the UK spends £27.98 a week, with the same survey revealing that 86% of football fans “enjoy a flutter (to make a small bet) occasionally’, we were able to estimate the advertising value of front-of-shirt sponsorship.
Based on these figures, such sponsorship could be worth more than £162 million per season in gambling spending potential through in-person advertising alone.
These estimates are grounded in the physical attendance of matches and do not account for the influence on those watching from home. While viewership figures for streaming and television are challenging to determine throughout the season, they undoubtedly contribute millions more to the advertising value of front-of-shirt sponsors.
According to Dr Rob Wilson, Head of Department for Finance, Accounting and Business at Sheffield Hallam University and expert on the business of sport, the disappearance of gambling sponsors from the front of shirts could be the end of an era in the Premier League.
“Commercial teams will have to work tremendously hard to replace any lost revenues and of course, betting sponsorships make up some quite significant revenues for a number of teams,” he told OLBG.
“The sponsorship market has also witnessed a relative slowdown post covid as organisations have tightened their belts and put return on their investments into sharp focus. It’s likely that there will be winners and losers with some of the more established teams being able to find replacements.
“Don’t be surprised to see more teams without a front-of-shirt sponsor for 25/26 seasons, a little bit like Chelsea this year, as clubs will struggle to find willing partners, certainly those who will be willing to spend ten million plus per season on securing sponsorship rights.”
