University of Bristol study says Premier League betting shirt ban has done little to cut gambling visibility

The University of Bristol's Hub for Gambling Harms Research has published its fourth annual study of gambling marketing in the Premier League, and its findings have prompted fresh criticism of the league's voluntary ban on betting sponsors on shirt fronts. The ban was agreed by 19 of the 20 clubs in 2023 and is now in force for the 2026/27 season.

The researchers recorded 15,571 gambling messages during the opening weekend alone. At least one message was visible for a total of five hours and 16 minutes, and overall visibility of gambling logos fell by only 10.5% compared with the 2025/26 season. The study also found that sleeve sponsorships rose 362% from previous years, while pitchside advertising accounted for 72% of all gambling messages in live matches.

Dr Raffaello Rossi, Senior Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Bristol Business School and Co-Director of the hub, said the results could not be presented as a success for self-regulation. He said Premier League broadcasts carried more gambling messages per game than every other jurisdiction in the comparison, including Germany, Canada and the US.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP, Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Gambling Reform, said the findings were further evidence that the voluntary approach was failing. He argued that the front-of-shirt restriction had barely scratched the surface and that the gambling and football industries cannot be relied on to regulate themselves.

The article's author notes a methodological caveat: the study counts a gambling message each time it appears during a live broadcast, so a single advert or sleeve logo can be counted many times. Even so, the author accepts that the shirt-front ban has not hit operator marketing as hard as expected, with operators and clubs shifting activity to sleeves, training kits, social media and LED boards.

Financial incentives remain strong. According to Ampere Analysis, betting companies accounted for 13% of new sponsorship deals signed so far in 2026/27, and 19 of the Premier League's 20 clubs and 19 of the Championship's 24 clubs have a betting partner. Campaigners argue that the 2023 compromise and the limited sponsorship measures in the Gambling Act review White Paper did not go far enough.