Half of the Premier League's 20 clubs could be forced to abandon lucrative sponsorship arrangements with gambling firms operating outside UK licensing rules, under government proposals that have set top-flight football on a collision course with regulated bookmakers.
An eight-week government consultation examining whether to prohibit clubs from partnering with gambling companies not licensed in Britain is due to close on Wednesday. The plans have pitted established, UK-licensed operators such as Ladbrokes and William Hill against the Premier League, which stands to lose tens of millions of pounds if the ban goes ahead.
According to analysis by the Guardian, the number of Premier League clubs holding commercial agreements with unlicensed betting operators has climbed from six to ten since the summer. That jump has coincided with the league's own voluntary decision to phase out front-of-shirt gambling sponsorships this season, prompting several clubs to seek alternative commercial arrangements.
Everton, for example, struck a new three-year sleeve sponsorship agreement with the crypto casino platform Stake.com, while Fulham relocated its partnership with SBOTOP from matchday shirts to training wear. Eight further clubs, including Chelsea and Tottenham, maintain commercial ties with gambling firms through stadium perimeter boards or player branding. Notably, 8XBet — licensed in Curaçao — has agreements spanning Chelsea, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Ipswich and Coventry.
The Premier League is reportedly lobbying against the proposed ban, arguing that many of these operators primarily target Asian markets and are not technically accessible to UK consumers — despite the ease with which anyone using a VPN can register and place bets within minutes.
The issue has taken on political significance given that Prime Minister Keir Starmer... actually, the connection drawn is to Andy Burnham, a well-known Everton supporter who was present for the club's season-opening fixture against Crystal Palace. Entain, the parent company of Ladbrokes, has written to all ten Premier League clubs with unlicensed gambling ties this week, specifically referencing Burnham's association with Everton in its letter to the club.
"The risk to football, sport integrity, and society is real," Entain's letter states, adding that unlicensed firms are not obligated to provide safeguards such as Gamstop self-exclusion, deposit limits and affordability checks. The letter continues: "Everton's association with Stake.com is particularly at odds with the prime minister's longstanding support for the club. It seems unimaginable that, having made his government's opposition to unlicensed gambling agreements clear, Andy Burnham would become a billboard for unregulated gaming by wearing the club's current strip."
Gambling minister Vicky Foxcroft is understood to have signaled to operators that the government intends to press ahead with a ban next year, though the league is expected to push for existing contracts, including Everton's, to be allowed to run their course.
The stakes extend beyond sponsorship revenue. Unregulated gambling operators generated an estimated £379m from UK-based users in the first half of 2025, according to the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, now accounting for 9% of Britain's £8.2bn online gaming market — up sharply from just 2% in 2022. Regulators have also linked the unlicensed sector's growth to increased financial harm, gambling addiction and suicide risk, since these firms bypass consumer protection requirements imposed on licensed operators.
There is also concern that unlicensed betting firms are fueling illegal sports streaming, which threatens the Premier League's £12bn broadcasting rights deals. The Campaign for Fairer Gambling's latest national report found that 89% of illegal UK sports streams carried advertising for black market bookmakers, while a Frontier Economics study cited in the government consultation identified club sponsorship as the second-biggest driver of public awareness of unlicensed gambling brands, behind only social media advertising.
Based on reporting from The Guardian.