Tricks up the sleeve: Why gambling sponsorship continues to divide UK opinion

The voluntary front-of-shirt sponsorship ban for gambling firms in the Premier League was intended to reduce the visibility of betting brands. Instead, operators now appear to be reshaping where those brands are seen, shifting towards sleeve deals in the top flight while continuing to expand front-of-shirt partnerships elsewhere in the English football pyramid.

This week, Aston Villa and Kaizen Gaming extended their partnership by three years, keeping Betano as an Official Partner of the club through the 2028/29 season. With front-of-shirt sponsorship no longer permitted in the Premier League, Betano's branding will remain on the left sleeve of Villa's shirts, one of the commercial spaces left untouched by the Premier League's new sponsorship rules.

A new era: The rise of sleeve sponsorships

That placement is not incidental. The Premier League confirmed last year that clubs will no longer be permitted to carry gambling sponsors on the front of their shirts from the coming season, a restriction agreed after years of pressure from campaigners concerned about children's exposure to betting brands.

Villa's renewal, alongside similar arrangements at other top-flight clubs, points to sleeves becoming the default landing spot for gambling money that would previously have gone on the shirt front.

Everton has taken a similar approach, extending its partnership with Stake ahead of the 2026/27 season by moving the operator from the front of the shirt to the sleeve. The agreement has attracted particular scrutiny as Stake is no longer licensed in the UK, fuelling criticism from licensed operators such as Entain, which has urged the Premier League to prohibit clubs from partnering with unlicensed gambling brands.

Outside the Premier League, however, the restriction does not apply, allowing clubs to continue signing front-of-shirt gambling sponsorships.

Outside the Premier League, business continues

Reading, playing in League One, today announced Mr Vegas as its new front-of-shirt partner in what the club described as its largest such agreement to date, replacing outgoing sponsor Select Car Leasing. The move follows a similar front-of-shirt deal last month between MrQ and Queens Park Rangers in the Championship. Between them, the two divisions look likely to see a rise in gambling-branded shirts even as the top flight moves away from them.

Reading's agreement prompted a strong response from the Supporters' Trust At Reading (STAR), which described gambling sponsorship as "a divisive and well-debated topic."
While acknowledging the commercial reality facing a club still recovering financially, the group argued that the prominence of betting brands in football continues to expose children and vulnerable people to gambling advertising. STAR also criticised the club for announcing the deal without consulting supporters and said replacing long-time sponsor Select Car Leasing with an online casino felt "especially jarring."

The limits of the Premier League's ban

The contrast reflects the limits of the Premier League's voluntary sponsorship reform. In 2023, clubs collectively agreed to remove gambling companies from the front of match shirts from the start of the 2026/27 season, a move backed by the industry itself rather than imposed through legislation.

However, the commitment applies only to front-of-shirt branding. Sleeve sponsorships, training wear, pitchside advertising, digital activations and regional partnerships remain available, allowing betting operators to maintain a significant commercial presence in English football through other marketing channels.

Betano's renewed Aston Villa partnership also reflects Kaizen Gaming's broader international strategy. The operator has significantly expanded the brand's presence in Latin America, including becoming an official sponsor of the Argentinian Football Association (AFA) in 2026.

Villa itself already has a strong Argentinian profile through goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, while reports have linked the club with a move for fellow Argentinian Alejandro Garnacho. 

The Aston Villa and Reading agreements illustrate how gambling operators are finding ways around the Premier League's new sponsorship restrictions.

The first sponsorship agreements of the new era suggest the debate has entered a new phase. While the Premier League has redrawn the rules for shirt sponsorship, betting operators continue to find high-profile routes into English football, ensuring the discussion over gambling's role in the game remains far from settled.