Brentford seeking a new sponsor to replace Hollywoodbets amid a clapdown on gambling sponsorship

Brentford is considering ending its shirt sponsorship with Hollywoodbets before the government clamps down on the Premier League’s financial links to the gaming industry.

The club have no plans to terminate their contract with the South African firm which runs beyond the end of this season, but are actively seeking a non-bidding company to replace them.

Brentford’s decision to seek a new shirt sponsor is understood to have been influenced by the government’s forthcoming White Paper on gambling reform rather than the impending ban on Ivan Toney for admitting multiple breaches of FA betting rules , which was revealed by Sportsmail.

Several of the other seven Premier League clubs with betting companies as shirt sponsors are also believed to be looking at alternatives, with Newcastle’s deal with Fun88 and Leeds’ deal with SBOTOP believed to be under review.

The White Paper is expected to ask Premier League clubs to agree to a voluntary ban on shirt sponsorship by betting companies. Eight of the 20 Premier League clubs display betting company names on the front of their shirts, which could be effectively banned from the start of the 2024/25 season if legislation is passed at the end of the current parliament.

Brentford is considering ending its shirt sponsorship with bookmaker Hollywoodbets

Brentford insists move to replace Hollywoodbets is unrelated to Ivan Toney charges

Brentford had started talks about replacing Hollywoodbets before Toney was charged with 262 alleged betting rule infringements in December, but the fallout from that story – his looming ban – presented a further complication.

In another twist, Brentford owner Matthew Benham made his fortune from betting and data analysis company Smartodds, although they have no commercial agreement with the club.

Brentford’s stance is in stark contrast to some of their Premier League rivals who have increased their reliance on gambling revenue despite the threat of a ban.

Everton, Fulham and Bournemouth signed new shirt sponsorship deals with betting operators this season, while Aston Villa agreed a new three-year deal to start this summer with Asian bookmaker BK8 last month.

“The commercial reality is that to teams outside the top six, these sponsors offer clubs twice as much money as non-betting companies,” Villa chief executive Christian Purslow said.

Any voluntary ban on gambling sponsorship would only apply to front-of-the-shirt deals, so sleeve and training kit sponsorship from the betting industry would still be allowed. EFL clubs would be completely exempt on the grounds that the estimated £40m loss of annual revenue would be catastrophic for lower league clubs.