Premier League clubs have until the end of the 2025-26 season to phase out gambling shirt sponsors. From summer 2026 they are banned entirely. Some clubs have been generating £20 to £25 million a year from those deals. The replacement market is a buyer's market and every sponsor knows it.
The clubs that treat this as a commercial opportunity rather than a revenue loss will come out ahead. The ones that wait until summer will be negotiating from desperation.
David Paton, Founder and CEO of Kinross Sport, has been inside this problem. He took Blackpool FC from £35,000 to £200,000 in shirt sponsorship in six weeks with no gambling. He turned around Spartan Race UK from a £750,000 annual loss. He ran Peterborough United through an FA Cup run that generated £1 million in additional revenue in a fortnight.
This episode shows you what the opportunity looks like and how to move on it before the window closes.
What this unlocks for you
- A framework for replacing gambling sponsorship with partnerships worth more commercially and reputationally
- Why the commercial opportunity inside a financial crisis in sport is almost always bigger than the problem itself
- The sequence that creates a real turnaround in sport and why most organisations get the order wrong
- How to move fast under pressure without making decisions you regret
About the Guest
David Paton is Founder and CEO of Kinross Sport, a specialist sports advisory business focused on strategic investment, operational excellence and turnaround at C-suite level across football, rugby and events businesses.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidpaton1/
Website: kinrosssport.co.uk
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