Why Betting Company Ads Haven't Disappeared from the EPL [Lee Jong-seong's Sports Culture & Industry]

*This content was translated by AI.

The 2026–2027 English Premier League (EPL), which kicked off on the 22nd (Korea time), has undergone significant changes compared to last season. This is because betting companies have removed their front-of-jersey advertisements from EPL kits.

Recently, betting companies held a very large share of the EPL jersey sponsorship market. Last season, betting companies sponsored the front of jerseys for 11 out of the 20th EPL clubs.

However, with the ban on betting company front-of-jersey advertisements, this season has seen an increased presence of financial firms and technology companies in EPL club jersey front ads.

This marks the end of the golden age of betting company sponsorships in the EPL, which began when Tottenham signed a four-year, approximately 64 billion won jersey sponsorship deal with Mansion, an online gaming and casino platform, in 2006.

The problem is that while betting companies' front-of-jersey advertisements have disappeared, their ads still exist extensively within the EPL. This is because betting companies can still advertise on jersey sleeves, training kits, and stadium LED boards.

In fact, Aston Villa and Everton, which had betting company front-of-jersey sponsors until last season, now feature betting company ads on their jersey sleeves this season.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa has signed a deal with the Rwanda Tourism Board this season, placing 'Visit Rwanda' on the front of their jerseys. Given that Rwanda is using such advertising to cleanse its image as a dictatorship, Aston Villa's approach has come under criticism.

Bournemouth, an EPL club in the lower-mid table, also has not completely escaped betting company advertisements. Casino company ads are attached to Bournemouth's jersey sleeves, and betting company logos appear on their training kits.

Over the past decade, betting company advertisements have been a lifeline for the finances of EPL clubs outside the top tier. In the 2016–2017 season, the average revenue from front-of-jersey ads for the 14th clubs excluding the so-called 'Big Six' (Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Tottenham) was around 6.4 billion won.

However, last season their average revenue rose to approximately 15 billion won. The primary driver of this revenue growth was betting companies that focused heavily on EPL football advertising. About 70% of the advertising revenue for the 14th EPL clubs last season came from sponsorship deals with betting companies.

Even the financially robust 'Big Six' clubs could not escape the sweet temptation of betting company advertisements. A representative example is Manchester United (Man Utd). Man Utd signed a training kit sponsorship deal with betting company Betway. The value of this sponsorship reaches approximately 37.8 billion won annually, which is higher than the amount for front-of-jersey sponsorships of lower-mid table EPL clubs.

Betway, one of the top players in the global sports betting industry, has also signed contracts with major EPL clubs such as Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester City, registering as their official betting partners.

Tottenham is not free from this issue either. In addition to training kits, Tottenham features advertisements for the online betting platform Betano on LED boards. Furthermore, the logo of Greek gaming company KaiZen, which owns Betano, appears on Tottenham's jersey sleeves.

Betting companies tend to spend more on advertising than companies in other industries. This is why betting companies can offer significantly higher sponsorship contract amounts compared to technology firms or financial institutions.

The EPL advertising market, which has the widest fan base globally, is the most effective market for them to increase their membership numbers. Additionally, lower-mid table clubs that require large sponsorship deals to survive in the EPL inevitably became prey for betting companies' aggressive marketing.

Of course, accepting betting company advertisements solely because they help club management is problematic. Especially after the ban on betting companies' front-of-jersey advertisements in EPL clubs, their workaround advertising models have been criticized for diminishing the sincerity of this prohibition measure.

The problem is that it will be difficult to implement even stronger bans on betting company advertisements in the EPL. Based on the 2023–2024 season, the EPL generated approximately 17 trillion won in value added for the UK economy, making it a crucial engine of national economic growth. The EPL also creates over 100,000 jobs. Considering the struggling UK economy, the EPL's impact cannot be ignored.

Moreover, the EPL is even more precious to the UK, which is trapped in the trap of a London-centric economic structure. About 60% of the economic effects generated by the EPL occur outside London. The center of this is the northwest region of the UK, including Liverpool and Manchester. In terms of regional balanced development, the value of the EPL is high. Andy Burnham (56), the UK Prime Minister who was a passionate fan of Everton, based in Liverpool, and served as the Mayor of Greater Manchester, is also very interested in this aspect.

For the 20th EPL clubs to achieve balanced development, the gap in club financial scales must be narrowed as much as possible. The role of the 14th clubs other than the Big Six is extremely important here. At this point, betting company sponsorships are a card that cannot be ignored. This is also why the agreement reached by EPL clubs in 2023 only covered the ban on front-of-jersey advertisements for betting companies starting from the 2026–2027 season.

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*This content was translated by AI.