The English Premier League (EPL) has undergone a major change this season: the "gambling ads" from betting firms that long adorned the front of club shirts have disappeared.
The 2026-2027 EPL season kicked off its roughly nine-month campaign with the official opener between defending champion Arsenal and newly promoted Coventry City on the 22nd, Korea time.
Among the changes introduced this season — including a "five-second countdown" rule for delayed throw-ins and goal kicks — the one drawing the most attention from fans is the removal of betting firms from front-of-shirt sponsorships.
The disappearance of betting logos from the front of shirts came through the clubs' own decision. All 20 EPL clubs agreed to stop displaying betting firm logos on the front of their shirts. The decision reflected pressure from the British government and public voices arguing that reckless gambling exposure to young people and those at risk of addiction should be curbed. As recently as the 2025-2026 season, 11 of the 20 clubs carried betting firm logos on their shirts, with contracts totaling £100 million (about 189.2 billion won), but the clubs agreed to the ban for the "greater good." As a result, betting firm logos have vanished entirely from the front of shirts starting this season.
Of the 11 clubs that had received betting sponsorship, the seven that avoided relegation have filled the fronts of their shirts with logos from new companies, spanning sectors as varied as tech, finance and food and beverage. Crystal Palace and Fulham brought in IT firms Temporal and ClickHouse as their new front-of-shirt sponsors. Nottingham Forest and Everton secured backing from financial firms Marex and CMC Markets. Brentford signed a main sponsorship with recruitment platform Indeed, Bournemouth with insurer Vitality, and Newcastle with sports drink maker Nox Hydrate. Aston Villa completed a deal with Visit Rwanda. Among the surviving teams, Sunderland — which failed to find a main sponsor — played its opener with a blank shirt front.
Doubts remain over the effectiveness of the ban, however, as gambling firm advertising is not fully prohibited on shirt sleeves, training kits or in-stadium ads. In fact, 16 of the 20 EPL teams continue to maintain direct or indirect ties with betting firms through various channels, including sleeve advertising, training kit sponsorship and official betting partnerships. British sports outlet Insider Sport noted that by banning front-of-shirt sponsorships, the league had turned training kits and shirt sleeves into prime advertising space, and said the move may have been a genuine attempt to reduce the number of gambling-related sponsors in football but was clearly not thought through carefully enough.
There is also considerable concern over the influence of the newly joined sponsors. With some financial investment firms moving into the space vacated by betting firms, there are worries that an effort to curb gambling could instead expose football fans to volatile, high-risk assets.
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