Premier League: Gambling providers give way to crypto companies

The English Premier League is undoubtedly one of the best and most economically attractive soccer leagues in the world: the clubs and their stars are known around the globe and offer huge advertising potential for companies. Sponsorships are correspondingly lucrative. Gambling companies in particular have often benefited from the huge reach and positive appeal. However, as such companies will no longer be allowed to act as main sponsors in the Premier League from the start of the 2026/27 season, many clubs have had to look for alternatives, which they have obviously found in the crypto industry.

The Premier League, the flagship of English soccer, is facing a historic turning point: The ban on gambling providers as main sponsors on shirts marks the end of an era in which sports betting companies in particular occupied a central place in the league for years.

However, the gap left by this withdrawal already seems to be filling. Crypto companies, which have been working towards a breakthrough into the mainstream for years, are moving into the focus of the sponsorship landscape. Similar to other sports and competitions, a shift is also taking place in the Premier League. Crypto sponsorship promises not only new revenue streams, but also access to an emerging industry that is developing at a rapid pace.

However, despite the growing interest, cryptocurrencies and corresponding companies remain a controversial topic. Their high volatility or strong price fluctuations and the often limited regulations cause skepticism. Critical voices ask whether such sponsorships are really more harmless than the previous ones with the gambling industry? The transition from one industry with a questionable reputation to the next is likely to give rise to some debate. In one particularly curious case, the founder of a crypto exchange embezzled the equivalent of several million euros from gambling.

The crypto industry is in the starting blocks and has already made an impressive arrival in the Premier League

The crypto industry has already established itself as a dynamic alternative in the Premier League's sponsorship landscape. While gambling companies will not be completely banned from the league's advertising spaces, they are likely to appear much less prominently from the 2026/27 season at the latest, when the main sponsorship ban comes into force. This decision marks a strategic step towards defusing the Premier League's image as a close partner of the gambling industry. At the same time, it offers scope for new sources of funding, which large crypto companies are only too happy to exploit.

• Leading brands such as OKX and Floki have already signed contracts with prestigious clubs such as Manchester City and Nottingham Forest.
• Another prominent example is the recently announced cooperation between the crypto exchange Kraken and Tottenham Hotspur. Kraken is also working with Atlético Madrid in Spain, another world-renowned soccer club.

These deals are not only financially lucrative, but also show the Premier League's transition to innovative sponsorship models, which not least reflect a technological change. Crypto companies are positioning themselves as modern sponsorship partners and offering the Premier League access to a technologically savvy audience or a new target group.

The league is exercising caution with its new partners

The Premier League is taking a cautious approach to its new partnerships with the crypto industry. In particular, the volatility of the crypto market and reputational concerns play a decisive role here.

The reputation of the crypto industry, similar to that of gambling companies, is not without controversy and the common target audience - risk-taking, tech-savvy consumers - exacerbates this impression. Christian Lang from the Center for Sports Management at the University of St. Gallen emphasized to the press that this parallelism in the target groups is a key feature that links the two industries. Incidentally, Singapore recently restricted the use of crypto in casinos due to various uncertainties.

1. In view of the volatile price movements of cryptocurrencies, many clubs therefore require sponsors to pay in advance - a safety net in the event of a sudden loss in value or insolvency of the crypto partners.
2. Clubs such as Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City have decided to structure their contracts in such a way that they can terminate them at any time in the event of reputational damage. This underlines the sensitivity with which clubs are entering into the new partnerships, especially at a time when there is growing pressure to distance themselves from traditional gambling sponsors.

However, not all clubs are consistently following the new crypto direction, which is also a sign of caution. Despite the industry shift towards cryptocurrencies, teams such as Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa have continued to sign contracts with gambling providers. This highlights the financial dependence of many clubs on lucrative sponsorship deals and the difficulty of moving away from an industry that has been a key financial partner for years.

Conclusion

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