Half of the Premier League could be forced to rethink lucrative gambling partnerships next year if the UK government proceeds with plans to ban sponsorship and advertising deals involving gambling companies that are not licensed in Britain.
As the government prepares to close its consultation on the proposed restrictions, 10 of the 20 Premier League clubs are understood to have commercial relationships with unlicensed gambling operators — up from six at the start of the summer.
The changes could put tens of millions of pounds in club revenues at risk.
Clubs caught between gambling money and new rules
The increase in unlicensed gambling partnerships comes as Premier League clubs have moved away from front-of-shirt betting sponsorships.
From the start of the 2026/27 season, clubs voluntarily agreed not to place gambling companies on the front of their shirts, but other forms of commercial exposure remain available.
Everton, for example, has signed a three-year sleeve deal with crypto casino Stake.com, while Fulham moved its SBOTOP partnership from the playing shirt to training wear.
Other clubs, including Chelsea and Tottenham, have commercial agreements involving stadium advertising and player branding.
One offshore operator, 8XBet, has partnerships with five clubs: Chelsea, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Ipswich and Coventry.
Government targets the offshore market
The proposed restrictions are part of a wider effort to reduce the UK’s unlicensed gambling market.
According to figures cited in the government consultation, unlicensed operators generated around £379m from UK users during the first half of 2025, representing roughly 9% of the country’s £8.2bn online gambling market.
Unlike UK-licensed operators, offshore companies are not required to provide the same consumer safeguards, including affordability checks, deposit and spending controls and GamStop self-exclusion.
Campaigners argue that the expansion of the black market increases the risk of financial harm and gambling-related addiction.
Premier League pushes back
The Premier League is understood to oppose a blanket ban, arguing that many of the affected operators primarily target customers outside Britain and do not officially offer their services to UK consumers.
Critics point out, however, that VPN technology can allow UK users to access overseas betting platforms.
The dispute is therefore becoming a wider debate about whether commercial exposure through elite football can indirectly promote gambling brands that sit outside the UK’s regulatory framework.
Entain, the owner of Ladbrokes, has stepped into the debate by writing to all 10 Premier League clubs linked to unlicensed operators.
The company has warned that offshore businesses do not have to provide the same player protections as regulated bookmakers and has questioned the role of football partnerships in promoting those brands.
Football piracy adds another layer
The debate is not only about gambling harm.
There are also concerns about the relationship between offshore betting companies and illegal sports streaming. Research cited in the debate suggests that black-market bookmakers are a major source of advertising revenue for pirated sports broadcasts.
The Campaign for Fairer Gambling reported that 89% of illegal UK sports streams in 2024-25 carried advertising for offshore bookmakers.
That creates a potential problem for the Premier League itself, whose lucrative broadcasting rights depend heavily on controlling illegal access to its matches.
Football sponsorship may also play a significant role in building awareness of offshore operators. A Frontier Economics study cited by the government found that sponsorship was the second-largest driver of consumer awareness of unlicensed gambling brands, behind social media advertising.
A major commercial decision ahead
The government is expected to introduce the proposed ban next year, although existing sponsorship agreements could become a major point of negotiation.
For the 10 affected clubs, the issue is becoming a difficult balancing act: offshore gambling partnerships can provide significant commercial income, but continuing those relationships could become impossible if the new rules are introduced.
The outcome could reshape the relationship between Premier League football and the offshore gambling sector — and potentially force clubs to replace millions of pounds in sponsorship revenue with deals from companies operating within the UK’s regulated market.