Under 18s and Responsible Gambling Sponsorship in Football
On 11 May 2025, Jeremy Monga, a 15-year-old player with Leicester City FC, was brought on as a substitute to play for the final 13 minutes of normal time in their Premier League match against Nottingham Forest FC.
This is not the first time Monga has played for Leicester City’s senior team but it is the first time I noticed as, full disclosure, half my household support Nottingham Forest and so the match was being watched on our television!
Monga’s appearance at senior level football is notable for many reasons, not least because like every other Year 11 pupil up and down the country he was due to sit a GCSE exam the following day (I have one of those in my house too!), but also because of his kit!
As a result of Premier League Regulations, Monga’s kit was decidedly different to those of his fellow Leicester City players owing to the fact that Leicester City’s shirt sponsor for the 2024/25 season is a company called BC. Game, who are an online gaming platform.
Monga entered the field of play wearing a shirt matching in colour to his team-mates, but absent the logo of the club’s shirt sponsor.
The Regulations
From the start of the 2024/25 season the Premier League, EFL, The FA and Women’s Super League agreed to formally adopt a new Code of Conduct for Gambling Related Agreements in Football.
The Code of Conduct (“the Code”) can be found here and it operates under the following principles:
- Protection: ensuring children and other vulnerable individuals are safeguarded is key and gambling sponsorship must be specifically designed so as to limit its exposure and promotion to such individuals and those at risk of gambling-related harm.
- Social Responsibility: Gambling sponsorship must only be promoted and executed in a manner which is socially responsible. Such promotion would therefore include, by way of example, the incorporation of education and awareness messaging into all marketing activities.
- Reinvestment: Any commercial income generated from gambling sponsorship must be reinvested back into initiatives that benefit football fans and communities. Such initiatives would include funding strong competitions, improving facilities such as stadiums and training centres, and providing opportunities for community and grassroots participation.
- Integrity: Gambling sponsorship must not compromise the integrity of the sport or harm the welfare of participants involved.
Section 3.5.1 of the Code states as follows:
“3.5.1. Prohibiting gambling sponsorship logos (both front of shirt and sleeve) on replica kits designed for Children.”
Accordingly for Monga to wear the same kit as the rest of the squad would have caused Leicester City to be in breach of the Code, and hence he appears in a plain, un-sponsored shirt.
Equally, replica club kits which are made in children’s sizes are prohibited from being an exact replica where the front of shirt sponsor is one related to or associated with gambling.
Upcoming Changes
With effect from the end of the 2025/26 season this situation should not arise again as all Premier League clubs have agreed to withdraw gambling sponsorship from the front of their matchday shirts which will ease the current headache many clubs have in producing different shirts for their Under 18 squads and junior fans.
Comment
Andrew Cotton, Senior Associate Solicitor in our Regulatory and Compliance Group with expertise in Betting and Gaming Licensing comments:
“It can be easy to forget the impact of sponsorship on the front of a football shirt, or to dismiss it as irrelevant, however there is an obligation on football clubs to ensure that they are responsible in what they promote or are associated with.
“The incoming changes will provide greater equality and inclusion for all ages when it comes to showing support for your Premier League team and ensure, to a large extent, the awareness of gambling and gaming operators is minimised such that young fans and vulnerable individuals are afforded greater protection from being bombarded with images on the front of football shirts.
Under the incoming changes advertising by UK licensed gambling and gaming operators will still be permitted on Premier League club shirt sleeves and stadium hoardings.”
If you have any queries in relation to the Gambling Regulations, please get in touch with our team.
