Football fans broadly opposed to betting brand sponsorships, finds YouGov
The Premier League’s ban on gambling brands as shirt sponsors has the approval of most fans of the beautiful game, a new survey shows.
A YouGov survey found fans in favor of the League's ban on gambling shirt sponsors / Unsplash
UK football fans broadly approve of a new crackdown by the Premier League on gambling advertising in football, YouGov data shows.
A poll of 1,000 supporters of top-tier clubs found that 77% of fans support the ban on shirt sponsorship by gambling brands. Just 8% opposed the rule while over half of the sample (56%) said they would support extending the ban to pitchside advertising.
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The ban on shirt-front sponsors is due to kick in from the beginning of the 2026-27 season.
The findings suggest that football fans in the UK see gambling firms as “inappropriate” supporters of the sport.
Most Premier League, Championship and League sides sport at least one official gambling partner in the form of shirt-front or shirtsleeve sponsorship or ‘official partner’ status. Top clubs Newcastle and West Ham bear the names of Betfair and Fun88 as their shirt sponsors, while Championship team Stoke City’s ground, formerly known as the Britannia Stadium, was renamed after sponsor Bet365.
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YouGov’s findings suggest fans at large share an appetite to clip the wings of gambling brands in the game, with 56% supporting a ban on pitchside advertising and 57% supporting a ban on naming leagues and competitions after betting sponsors.
77% of fans in YouGov’s survey said they saw gambling companies as “inappropriate” sponsors, relative to telecoms brands or financial services companies and banks, which 70% said were appropriate partners to the game. 60% said cryptocurrency brands shouldn’t be shirt sponsors, while 52% said the same about alcohol and 50% about fast-food chains.
The survey was conducted last week.