Top football clubs breaking betting advert rules meant to protect minors

Half of Premier League football clubs have advertised gambling on web pages aimed at, or featuring, people under the age of 18, prompting concern about a voluntary code of conduct drawn up with the help of the betting industry.

- Rob Davies

A review of gambling regulation published last year resulted in English football clubs avoiding any new government-imposed restrictions affecting their income from betting sponsorship.

Instead, Premier League clubs volunteered to forgo front-of-shirt betting logos from 2026 and signed up to new rules for sponsorship, drafted in collaboration with the gambling industry's lobby group, the Betting & Gaming Council.

The move was designed to show that clubs and gambling companies were acting responsibly, amid concerns about the degree to which football promotes betting and the potential impact on young and vulnerable people.

But 10 of 20 Premier League clubs did not appear to be abiding by their own code as of Monday. At least two clubs displayed members of their under-18 squad wearing shirts with betting logos on them.

The findings prompted concern from campaigners, including the former ITV football commentator Clive Tyldesley and the former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith, about allowing clubs to set their own rules on gambling sponsorship.