Shirt front ban cut betting advertising by only 10.5%

According to new research from the University of Bristol, betting advertising kept its high visibility over the opening weekend of the 2026/27 Premier League season. Clubs had voluntarily agreed not to carry betting sponsors on the front of their shirts this season. Even so, researchers recorded 15,571 betting messages, which points to a decline of 10.5%.

The study examined all Premier League matches broadcast live in the United Kingdom between 21 and 24 August. It also assessed 15 hours of Sky Sports News coverage and 15 hours of TalkSport radio coverage. On social media, it looked at organic and paid posts from the 10 betting brands with the most followers.

In live broadcasts, at least one betting message was on screen for 5 hours and 16 minutes. That is roughly one fifth of broadcast time. Of all messages in the matches, 72% came from pitch-side boards. Betting brand visibility on sleeves and training wear was more than three times higher than in previous years.

Project lead Dr. Raffaello Rossi said, "This cannot be presented as a success of self-regulation." According to Rossi, the number of betting messages per match in Premier League broadcasts is higher than in comparable broadcasts in Germany, Canada and the US. The estimated reach of more than 1,000 paid ads on Facebook and Instagram was 153.2 million accounts. More than 10% of that reach went to users aged 18 to 24. The findings will be presented to the UK Parliament on Wednesday.