West Ham to secure betting deal ahead of sponsorship ban

BoyleSports has formed an alliance with West Ham United to appear on the Premier League side’s shirts for the upcoming 2025/26 season, according to reports.

The move would signal the end of West Ham’s decade-long front-of-shirt sponsorship with Betway, switching out the Super Group-owned brand for BoyleSports in a £12m deal for one season. 

The Dundalk-based sports betting operator now adds West Ham to its list of English football club partners, having appeared on Birmingham City and Coventry City’s shirts in previous deals. 

Some may be surprised by the news of West Ham partnering another betting firm whilst their Midfielder Lucas Paqueta remains the subject of a spot-fixing probe.

Rumours of Paqueta’s alleged spot-fixing began in 2023, after the player was accused of intentionally receiving cards from referees in several Premier League fixtures to impact the betting market and allowing individuals to profit from related bets. 

The FA charged the Brazilian player with four breaches of FA Rule E5.1. He was subsequently charged with two further breaches of FA rules in relation to failing to comply by providing information and documents. 

Sponsorship ban inbound

BoyleSports would adorn the Hammers’ shirts ahead of the ban on front-of-shirt gambling sponsors in the Premier League, as the operator supposedly taking advantage of the final year before the White Paper’s introductions come into place at the start of the 2026/27 season. 

The ban comes at a time where a number of suspicious sponsorship deals have been formed by a number of British football clubs with gambling brands that don’t hold a license for the UK market. 

Recently, several Premier League clubs faced uncertainty about their sponsorships as TGP Europe – a white label service provider for various UK-licensed gambling operators – left the UK market following regulatory action. 

TGP Europe decided to exit the market after the UK Gambling Commission demanded significant improvements for the operator to stay active with a UK license, having been fined £3.3m for failing to properly vet business partners and breaching anti-money laundering rules.

The affected Premier League sponsorships included Newcastle United (Sportsbetio.uk), Fulham (SBOTOP), Leicester City (BCGame), AFC Bournemouth (bj88), and Wolverhampton Wanderers (DEBET).

Additionally, Championship side Hull City and Premier League-bound Burnley were also affected due to their respective deals with Sportsbet.io and 96.com.

Each club was subsequently contacted by the UKGC which warned of the risks of promoting unlicensed gambling websites.

This dilemma adds to a myriad of issues that have circulated English football as a result of gambling sponsorships, as Leicester faced similar problems when its main sponsor BC.Game lost its UK license last year. 

With only a year left for gambling operators to be sponsored on the front of Premier League clubs’ shirts, companies will be joining BoyleSports in rallying to take advantage of this final year and increase their brand visibility.