Premier League's Shirt Ban Moves Gambling Logos to Sleeves, LED Boards and Training Kit

Premier League shirts have lost their gambling logos at the front, but the sponsorship money largely stayed in the sport. The voluntary ban, agreed in 2023 and phased in over three years, ended at the start of the 2026-27 season and left gambling firms with shirt sleeves, training kit and the LED boards around the pitch.

A University of Bristol analysis of the season's opening weekend, as summarised by Front Office Sports, found the front-of-shirt ban removed around 10% of total gambling messages. Around half of that reduction was offset by more shots of sleeves, training kits and LED screens. The Bristol figures reach this desk only through that summary.

The money tells a similar story. Adam Lewis of Ampere Analytics estimates the eight clubs that had to find new front-of-shirt sponsors saw the combined annual value of those deals rise from $89 million (£67 million) to $99 million (£75 million). Across the league, sleeve and training-kit sponsorship grew from $176 million (£133 million) to $206 million (£156 million), largely because gambling firms moved there. Lewis also believes gambling companies now account for more than 50% of training-kit sponsorship value. These are his estimates, not club accounts.

The cost of the change is uneven. Fans see fewer logos on the shirt but similar brands elsewhere. Some clubs had to rebuild their commercial plans in a hurry. Sunderland and Chelsea played without sponsors on their shirts after failing to close satisfactory deals before the season, and Chelsea has since signed crypto firm Circle. The government judged that clubs below the Premier League depended too heavily on gambling money, and that a full ban could push some toward collapse. Those clubs remain free to sign gambling deals.

Prediction markets are the open question. Neither Polymarket nor Kalshi legally serves UK users, according to the report. The UK Gambling Commission said earlier this year that a prediction-market operator launching in Great Britain would not be able to classify itself as a non-gambling product. The Premier League said it "can't comment" on whether prediction markets fall under the rule. In Italy, a court struck down a $21 million (€19 million) shirt deal between Polymarket and Lazio this summer, concluding that such firms were covered by a gambling sponsorship ban.

Analysis: the ban has so far changed where gambling brands appear more than how much they spend. Evidence that sleeve and LED exposure reaches far fewer viewers than shirt fronts, or a clear Premier League ruling on prediction markets, would change that view.