Belgium’s Jupiler Pro League clubs find ways around betting sponsor ban ahead of Premier League ruling

Imago

Belgian clubs participating in the Jupiler Pro League are still promoting betting companies on the fronts of their shirts, despite new rules effectively meant to prohibit this form of sponsorship. 

Among a raft of new regulations, clubs are no longer allowed to display gambling logos on the fronts of shirts and where logos do appear, they must be no bigger than 75cm squared. However, clubs and betting companies have found ways to get around the recent prohibition. 

Check out the best UK bookmakers to claim free bets worth up to £850!

Specifically, rules dictate that companies directly promoting games of chance cannot be a club’s primary sponsor. Their logos cannot appear on the fronts of shirts, but they can still be supplemental sponsors with logos on shorts, shoulders and backs of shirts.

The rule, however, does allow for sponsorship of entities that do not directly offer games of chance; such as gambling affiliates. This loophole is being exploited by various clubs in the league. 

Club Brugge displays U-Expert branding on the front of shirts. U-Expert is a news app owned and run by Unibet: the club’s main sponsor. Unibet is a betting site so its logo would not be allowed as a primary sponsor’s logo. While the U-Expert app advertises and links prominently to Unibet, the app itself does not offer betting or games of chance. 

Similar sponsorships can be seen between Charleroi and U-Expert. Standard Liege displays Circus Daily advertising, which is a news app that links directly to the Circus betting site. Antwerp displays AntwerpFirst branding, which is a news site from BetFirst. Cercle Brugge and Goalden Palace News also have a similar deal in place. 

Belgium’s gaming commission, Kansspelcommissie (KSC), which introduced stricter laws on betting advertising practices in sports, has opened an investigation into these methods. It is currently unclear whether they will be able to do anything to stop the advertising.

The new rules were announced in December 2024. Clubs initially hit back at the changes, stating that they would harm revenue opportunities and earnings. 

Traditionally, betting and gambling companies are willing to pay more than other industries for prominent advertising positions on shirt fronts. This has proven to be true in markets across the world, including in the UK. 

England has announced similar restrictions of its own. A prohibition on placing betting advertising on the front of shirts comes into force starting in the 2026/27 season. The rules were not introduced by the Premier League or the UK Gambling Commission. 

Instead, 18 of 20 Premier League clubs voted for the ban themselves; although it was likely a pre-emptive move ahead of officials taking a similar stance in the coming seasons. A YouGov survey showed that nearly two-thirds of adults and just over half of children believe all forms of betting advertising should be banned in sports. 

The ban will not prevent logos or advertising from appearing on shirt backs, sleeves, shorts, or even stadium facilities. Clubs like West Ham will likely be watching the Belgian league with interest: they have the largest current deal with a known betting company, Betway. West Ham’s deal is worth approximately £11m a year. This is over 6% of the club’s current revenue.