The U.K.’s top sports league is taking big steps to reduce advertising from the betting industry.
On Thursday, the Premier League announced that its clubs have collectively agreed to remove all gambling companies as sponsors on the front of players’ jerseys by the end of the 2025-26 season.
Teams will reportedly still be allowed to feature gambling sponsors on shirt sleeves, as well as through signage in stadiums.
The league came to the decision after consulting with the U.K. government’s Department for Culture, Media, and Sport, which is currently reviewing legislation related to gambling in the country.
The Premier League plans to work with other leagues to develop “a new code for responsible gaming sponsorship.”
Eight clubs — Bournemouth, Brentford, Everton, Fulham, Leeds, Newcastle, Southampton, and West Ham — currently feature betting companies as their shirt-front sponsor, with those deals collectively worth about $75 million per year.
While several major European soccer leagues have instituted similar measures in recent years, the U.K.’s league is reportedly the first to do so voluntarily.
Serie A clubs have been prohibited from using gambling companies for main shirt sponsors since 2019, when the Italian government passed a new set of laws, while Spain’s La Liga has had similar measures in place since 2021.
