LONDON: Any decision by the UK government to ban football shirt advertising would force nine out of 20 Premier League clubs to find a new shirt sponsor.

A review of the 2005 Gambling Act could also lead to a ban on televised gambling adverts and pitchside hoarding. A white paper is expected to come out at the end of 2021 or in early 2022.

A three-month consultation period will precede the bill going before Parliament, which means there will be no impact on sports teams until 2023 at the earliest.

Liam Fox, Sport Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, said: “The combined value of betting front-of-shirt sponsorship deals in the Premier League stands at *£57.64m, while another £1.75m is spent by betting brands on sleeve sponsorship deals.

“Premier League clubs will, therefore, lose out on nearly £60m as a result of the ban.

“There has been a saturation of betting shirt sponsorship deals in the Premier League for the past five seasons or so now.

“Sponsorship is unique in that it enables betting operators to position themselves effectively in front of millions of sports fans who have direct access to their product for use there and then.

“What this has meant is that mid-lower Premier League clubs have become increasingly reliant on the industry to help limit the financial disparity between themselves and those clubs at the summit of the table.”

** Business of the English Premier League 2021-22 – Property Profile, Sponsorship and Media Landscape

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