Five UK Betting Firms Confirm Sponsorship Deals with English Championship Clubs

Seven English Championship teams will display a betting company logo on the front of their shirts this season as operators adapt to the Premier League sponsorship ban.

Midnite will be one of the most visible brands in English football’s second tier, sponsoring no less than three teams – including three of the favourites for promotion in Wolves, Middlesbrough and West Ham.

Premier League clubs unilaterally decided to ban gambling sponsorship back in 2023, with the voluntary veto coming into force as of this 2026/27 campaign.

Magnificent Seven

Although lacking the prestige of the Premier League, the Championship is still a viable competition for betting brands to partner with.

Games are broadcast live on Sky Sports every weekend, with viewing figures occasionally reaching one million people for the most appetising matches – some are also shown on terrestrial television too, which is a gateway to even larger audiences.

The Championship also happens to be one of the best-attended second tier divisions in world football, with a total attendance of more than 12 million in 2025/26.

So you can see why firms are keen to get branding on the front of the shirts of Championship clubs, with seven teams – and five different operators – penning such agreements.

The UK brand Midnite has been the most prolific, signing deals with Wolves, Middlesbrough and former Premier League outfit Sheffield United. They will also continue as the training kit sponsor of Southampton.

Entain may be winding down their sponsorship activity in horse racing, having parted company with the Cheltenham Festival earlier this year, but they’re not dropping all commercial agreements.

Their flagship brand Coral will be the front-of-shirt sponsor of Birmingham City; this is the first time in the company’s 100-year history that they have penned such an agreement.

Although their sponsorship deal with Watford came to an end last season, Mr Q – headquartered in St Albans – has once again kept things local by instead switching to QPR as front-of-shirt sponsor.

Bet365’s long association with Stoke City will continue. The operator, founded more than 25 years ago by the local Coates family, is still headquartered in Stoke-on-Trent, with the Potteries club formerly owned by the Coates clan. They will once again play at the bet365 Stadium this term.

And finally, BOYLE Sports will continue sponsoring West Ham, despite the Hammers’ relegation from the Premier League last season. The Irish firm pays an estimated £12 million a year for the privilege.

As if all that wasn’t enough, five more Championship clubs – Cardiff City, Norwich City, Preston, Southampton and West Brom – will have a gambling logo on either their shirt sleeves or their shorts during the 2026/27 campaign.

New Look

The Premier League will have a different look and feel when the new season gets underway on Friday evening.

As mentioned, betting firms have been banned from sponsoring the front of EPL clubs’ shirts. They have had to find replacement companies, costing some teams as much as £80 million a year, with those in the tech, finance and beverages industries unwilling to match the lofty sums paid by the gambling sector.

However, the Premier League won’t be completely free of gambling sponsors, as brands are still able to advertise via pitchside hoardings and on a club’s shirt sleeves and/or shorts.

Some have been creative in their commercial activations. Betway have signed a deal with Manchester United to become their official training kit sponsor, with reports suggesting they’re paying £20 million a year to do so.

United are one of the most popular football clubs on the planet, so Betway will tap into a potentially huge market – as well as having their logo on advertising boards at Old Trafford and on the logo-heavy backdrops displayed behind the players and managers when being interviewed pre and post-game.

The opportunities for lucrative sponsorships in football are still there… and they’re still worth every penny, too.