The Claire Byrne Show
Are crypto sponsors on football jerseys essentially the same as gambling sponsors?
19 Jun 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: Why are Premier League clubs moving away from betting sponsorships?
The Clare Byrne Show on Newstalk. With Aviva Insurance.
Hi, Claire. Great to be here again.
And so the betting clubs are out, Mitch, are they? And the crypto companies are in?
Yeah, that's what it seems like at the moment. Obviously, the ban is from next season. It's a voluntary ban that the Premier League clubs have agreed to saying they won't have
betting sponsorships on the front of their shirts anymore but there will still be betting sponsorship elsewhere in the premier league and of course betting sponsorship elsewhere in football um but meanwhile as you say the financial conduct authority um earlier this month they put out a warning i suppose a stern letter would be a good way of wording it essentially saying that um football clubs should not be getting into sponsorship deals with
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Chapter 2: What warning did the Financial Conduct Authority issue regarding crypto firms?
what they called unauthorised firms and they said crypto firms specifically. So this refers to crypto firms that don't operate in the UK and are not authorised to operate in the UK.
So how seriously do the premiership clubs have to take that warning from the Financial Conduct Authority? Is it a friendly reminder that you shouldn't do this or does it mean you will be in big trouble if you do take money from crypto companies?
Yes, good question. At the minute, it's a stern reminder, let's call it. They're saying that if you have a relationship with an unauthorized crypto firm, you may potentially expose your club to legal liability. That's what they're saying. They've not named any clubs. They've not said they've enforced any actions against any clubs.
Chapter 3: How do unauthorized crypto firms pose a risk to Premier League clubs?
They've said that They are engaging with the government and the Premier League and they've sort of reached out to some clubs, but they've not named directly which clubs these are. So at the moment, it's a stern letter, but it is an interesting one. I suppose the timing of it is somewhat interesting considering this ban is coming into force next season.
So the clubs have to find a replacement for the betting companies being on the shirts and there would be a lot of money involved there, wouldn't there?
Yeah, absolutely. And I think some fans are often frustrated by the fact that you've got these clubs which make an enormous amount of money, you've got this league which has an enormous amount of eyeballs, and yet these clubs seem to struggle to find sponsorship other than betting companies or crypto companies in this case. I mean, cryptocurrencies, aside from the fact that
some crypto companies are not authorised to operate in the UK. Some people might question the sort of growing presence of crypto in football generally, whether that's authorised or not.
Chapter 4: What challenges do clubs face in finding new sponsorships after the betting ban?
And there are some clubs that have sponsorship deals with crypto companies, but they are regulated. So the Financial Conduct Authority will be fine with that. It's the ones that aren't regulated that they're issuing the warning bell about.
Correct. Yes. So yeah, there's plenty of sort of authorised crypto companies, as you say, that are involved with the Premier League. I mean, some are affiliated with FIFA as well. FIFA chose Kraken, which is a crypto exchange. It's an official partner. You've got Arsenal.
Chapter 5: Why are crypto companies still attracting sponsorship deals in football?
If you ride the tube in London, you'll see that they've got a partnership with a crypto firm as well. Other Premier League clubs have relationships with crypto firms, all of which are authorised. The specific concern is around unauthorised crypto firms.
Now, we do know that there are three unauthorised crypto firms which have in the past and currently have sponsorship relationships with Premier League clubs, this being VT Markets, which is a current sponsor of Newcastle United, Maliki, which was a previous sponsor, so no longer a sponsor of of Sheffield United and LAC3, which was, once again, previously a sponsor of Wolves.
We don't know if the Premier League has reached out to those clubs specifically. We don't know what that might involve. But what we do know is those crypto firms are unauthorised to operate in the UK. And this is precisely the sort of deal that the FCA has been warning about.
Chapter 6: What potential revenue streams are clubs exploring beyond crypto and betting?
Mitch, you've touched on this already in what you've said, but just to go back to the fact that there are so many huge companies, like think of some of the big sports companies like Nike and Adidas.
Why is the premiership industry needing to reach out to these firms where they're going to attract the attention of the Financial Conduct Authority when there must be so many companies who would pay huge money to be on those shirts?
It's a very good question. And I suppose the only answer I could possibly imagine would be that the crypto companies are willing to pay more or the betting companies are willing to pay more than the sports companies.
I mean, obviously, there are huge sports sponsorship deals with Premier League clubs already, you know, Nike sponsorship with England and several other Premier League clubs and Adidas sponsorship with, you know, Premier League clubs and clubs in Europe as well. And The only possible thing I could think of is that this is a way of bringing in more money.
But yeah, it's something that fans have noticed and it's something that not every fan is a fan. is pleased with. So it's, yeah, it's an interesting that we sort of ended up in this situation.
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Chapter 7: How can Premier League clubs navigate the betting sponsorship ban?
And is there panic, do you detect, amongst the premiership clubs about the void left by the betting companies having to come off the shirts? Because you're talking, I mean, close to Ā£100 million across the board. That is the gap that is left by that ban.
It's a very good point. I suppose, you know, we did have Chelsea for a while operated without a sort of front shirt sponsor, and their revenue was still OK. I mean, there's a large question here about revenues of Premier League clubs, but you would imagine Ā£100 million across the 20 Premier League clubs, some of the largest clubs in the world, is something that they could stomach.
They evidently feel they can, which is why they haven't rushed into some other sponsorship deal. You would imagine if they lowered their expectations, plenty of companies would snap up those deals, but they've decided... as you say, in some cases, it seems at the minute to go with a void on their shirts. So, yeah, I can't imagine they are panicking because of the money they make.
But certainly the FCA is on their case.
Well, I see from your research that Crystal Palace have found an AI software company. So maybe that is the next revenue stream. That's the next big thing, isn't it?
Yeah, well, it's funny you should mention that. I'm actually a Crystal Palace fan. I live in Croydon. So, yeah, this certainly means a lot to me. Yeah, it's a funny one. Crystal Palace have had betting companies on their shirts for years. They had WA8 when they got to the semi-final of the FA Cup. They had Net88, which is a Vietnamese betting company, when they won the FA Cup.
So sort of that shirt will always be associated with winning the FA Cup. So it'll be interesting to see, you know... how fans react to a sort of a new sponsorship deal. And yeah, sort of how that, I don't know how that fits in with the club's legacy. Obviously the first time playing in Europa League and, and an AI sponsor to go with it.
And good luck to you in the next season. But getting around the betting ban, there are ways to do it. So you can't play in a shirt with a betting company on the front or the back of it, but you can have a training kit. That's what Manchester United are likely to do, isn't it? That they will have a betting company sponsor their training kit and that's allowed.
Yeah, of course. And I think it's worthwhile mentioning two things. One, which you've alluded to, this bet is specifically for the front of shirts. It doesn't refer to any other sponsorship deal or any other relationship they might have with a betting company. Of course, the EFL and the Premier League and FIFA are still accepting lots of money from betting companies in terms of sponsorship.
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