English football's top flight is entering a new commercial era this season after clubs voted to voluntarily end front-of-shirt sponsorship deals with gambling companies, marking the close of a 20-year chapter that began in 2006.
For the previous two seasons, 11 of the Premier League's 20 clubs carried some form of betting-related branding on their shirts, ranging from mainstream bookmakers to obscure crypto casinos not even licensed to operate in the UK. That number has now dropped to zero on shirt fronts, forcing eight clubs to scramble for replacement sponsors this summer.
Not every club has succeeded yet. Nottingham Forest, Sunderland and Chelsea remain without a confirmed front-of-shirt partner. Chelsea's situation is particularly notable given their status as reigning FIFA Club World Cup champions. Kieran Maguire, professor of football finance at the University of Liverpool, suggested the west London club's difficulties stem from a mismatch between their commercial ambitions and what sponsors are willing to pay.
"This is mainly due to the club's perception of its worth not being matched by that of sponsors themselves," Maguire said, adding that the wider gambling ban has also "reduced supply" of potential deals. Chelsea briefly partnered with AI firm IFS last season, a short-term arrangement that reflects a broader shift in where sponsorship money is now coming from.
Technology and artificial intelligence companies have emerged as prominent replacements for betting firms. Crystal Palace and Fulham have moved from gambling sponsors to Temporal and ClickHouse respectively, while Ipswich Town and Manchester United also carry tech branding this season — Manchester United's deal with Snapdragon is reportedly worth around £60m annually. Finance has actually overtaken technology as the most common sponsorship category, appearing on five clubs' shirts, including Everton's new arrangement with CMC Markets. Other clubs have turned to insurance, tourism and recruitment firms to fill the void left by gambling companies.
The shift represents a dramatic departure from the Premier League's shirt-sponsorship origins. Shirt logos were first permitted before the 1979-80 season, with Everton's deal with Danish meat company Hafnia becoming the league's first, swiftly followed by Liverpool's tie-up with Hitachi. Electronics brands such as JVC, Panasonic and Sharp dominated the early decades, and in the Premier League's inaugural 1992-93 season, nine of 22 clubs had tech sponsors — five of them Japanese firms. Alcohol brands were also common through the 1990s before Everton's deal with Chang beer ended that trend in 2016-17.
Gambling sponsorship took off following the 2005 Gambling Act, with Tottenham's £34m four-year deal with Mansion in 2006 kickstarting the boom. Betting firms subsequently became the go-to option for mid-table and smaller clubs unable to attract the global brands that flock to the so-called