Supporters looking at the new kits this season will notice a major change. For the first time, no Premier League club has a gambling brand on the front of its matchday shirt.
However, some betting logos have not disappeared. They have simply moved to other parts of club kits and stadiums.
The change follows a series of gambling reforms introduced over the past two years. These rules have also changed how online casino and slots operators run their businesses.
Gambling Reforms Squeezed the Smaller Operators Out
The Gambling Commission and the government’s White Paper introduced several new rules. The changes have affected online casino games in particular.
New stake limits now apply to online slots. Players under 25 face a £2 maximum stake per spin. The limit for adults is £5.
Operators also cannot offer features such as autoplay and rapid spin cycles. These changes have become some of the most important new rules for the slots industry.
The reforms added more costs for gambling companies. Operators must also carry out affordability checks when a player’s net deposits reach £150 in a rolling month.
The industry now pays a statutory levy as well. The money supports research, prevention and treatment of gambling harm through the NHS and public health bodies.
Clubs Chose to Clear the Shirt Fronts
The shirt change itself was agreed back in April 2023. In the Premier League’s statement on gambling sponsorship, the clubs said they would collectively withdraw gambling brands from the front of matchday shirts, becoming the first UK sports league to do so voluntarily.
They gave themselves until the end of the 2025/26 season to find replacements.
At the time, eight clubs had a gambling company as their main shirt sponsor, with those deals reportedly worth around £60 million a year in total.
The decision came during the same government review that produced the stake caps and slot rules, so the two stories have always been linked.
Ministers welcomed the move, and the league said it would also work with other sports on a shared code for responsible gambling sponsorship, which the football authorities adopted from the 2024/25 season.
It is worth being clear about what the agreement does not cover. It applies only to the front of the matchday shirt.
Sleeves, training kits, stadium boards and digital advertising were all left open, and that is exactly where the money has gone.
Sponsors Moved to Sleeves and Training Kits
Premier League previews this season will still show plenty of betting logos, just in different places.
Sleeve deals have become more valuable, pitch-side boards still rotate through betting brands, and Manchester United signed a training kit deal with Betway reported at around £20 million a year, more than many clubs earn from their main shirt sponsor.
Other clubs have signed similar partnerships covering overseas betting markets, where the rules on advertising are different.
The brands paying for these deals are largely the ones that came through the reform wave in good shape.
They had the money to handle affordability checks, rebuild their slot games around the new stake limits and pay the levy, and they still have enough left over to buy space around the game.
For supporters, the practical change is modest.
The shirt fronts are cleaner, but gambling advertising has not left English football.
What has changed is who can afford to be there, and that is a direct result of the rules that reshaped slots and online casino play behind the scenes.
