Simon Zinger, Entain’s Group General Counsel and Chief Customer Care Officer, has written to six Premier League clubs about unlicensed gambling sponsors featured on their shirts.
Zinger emphasised that illegal gambling should not be associated with the Premier League, but highlighted that six clubs prominently feature such sponsors on their shirts.
The operator's LinkedIn statement cited Zinger, who said: ‘’ We need to keep these unlicensed organisations away from shirts and pitch-side perimeters. I've written to all six clubs to strongly urge their chairs to stop promoting these illegal operators to their fans and to stop funding criminality.''
This is not the first instance in which Entain representatives have called for the termination of such agreements.
Last month, Entain officially reached out to the UK Independent Football Regulator (IFR) for clarification on the laws governing unregulated gambling sponsorships in football, asserting that clubs should not be permitted to enter into deals with unlicensed entities.
Speaking on the matter, Entain CEO Stella David stated: “Premier League clubs are being sponsored by criminal gambling firms. The Independent Football Regulator can stop this tomorrow by simply acknowledging that unlicensed gambling companies targeting UK customers through English football are breaking the law – plain and simple.’’
In February, David penned an open letter to the Premier League CEO Richard Masters imploring the league to act on unlicensed gambling sponsorships and labelling the league as ‘complicit’ in the proliferation of the UK’s black gambling market.
The UK Government has decided to implement a ban on sponsorships from unlicensed operators, pending further developments.
From the start of the 2026-27 season in August, clubs will no longer be permitted to display gambling sponsorship on the front of players' shirts, although operators will still be allowed to sponsor shirt sleeves
