Stake – the betting company emblazoned across the front of Everton’s shirts – are no longer a licensed website in the United Kingdom.
The Friedkin Group are not under any obligation to remove Stake from the kit just yet despite this, although Everton will have to find a new sponsor for the strips in time for the start of the 2026/27 campaign after Premier League clubs agreed to ban gambling sponsors on the front of shirts.
Adam Williams – Head of Football Finance and Governance Content for GRV Media – has now spoken to Everton News about who could eventually replace Stake.
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Angus Kinnear quote on Everton owners The Friedkin Group.
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Exclusive: AJ Bell and Hill Dickinson suggested as possible replacements for Stake at Everton
Williams said: “There are a number of Premier League club sponsors who either don’t have a license in the UK or who have obtained a kind of proxy license through a third-party company. That is what’s known as white-labelling. Stake don’t have a UK license as of today, but that doesn’t mean they have to forfeit their sponsorship deal with Everton. The Premier League’s TV rights are now more valuable outside the UK than they are within it, and that’s reflective of viewership. So because they aren’t necessarily marketing in that region, they still get significant value from sponsoring a club like Everton.
“We’re approaching a seismic moment for the Premier League sponsorship market in that gambling companies won’t be able to be front-of-shirt partners with clubs from the start of next season. There are all sorts of theories about what that will do to the value of front-of-shirt rights across the league, because bookies usually pay significantly more than other companies. I’ve spoken to an executive at one Premier League club – not anyone associated with Everton – who said that a betting partner was offering £10m for their front-of-shirt rights while the offers from other industries were around £4m. For what it’s worth, I think for most clubs the value of front-of-shirt deals will fall in the short term because it will be a buyer’s market, but you could see that value migrate to sleeve deals, training kit deals, naming rights and so on.
“I don’t think for one second that it will happen, but Stake could – in theory – move to be Everton’s sleeve sponsor. That’s the paradox of this new regulation. There is still going to be huge visibility for these companies.”
Williams – who also explained to Everton fans why Chelsea avoided a PSR breach recently despite a loss of £355m – continued: “As far as Everton are concerned, however, I think they are in a strong position to get a good front-of-shirt deal. I covered their search for a naming rights partner closely and the emphasis when The Friedkin Group took over that process was about getting a sponsor that fits a certain profile – local, trusted and aligned with what the club wants to do. The same logic will presumably apply as The Friedkin Group looks for a new front-of-shirt deal.
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“I would expect it to be a long-term deal with a recognised brand. Could Hill Dickinson even upgrade their naming rights deal to include front-of-shirt? That’s Arsenal and Brighton’s strategy. That said, they are with a new agency in this search – Range Sport rather than Elevate, so the new guys might want to go in a different direction. Everton held talks with AJ Bell about naming rights too, and there’s a link back to Everton with the ownership there. That could be a possibility, but I have to stress I haven’t got any inside knowledge on that.
“In terms of valuations, I’d go somewhere around the £12m mark. The value of the Hill Dickinson deal was overstated in the media as £10m when it’s actually around £6m in the first year with step-ups in subsequent seasons and other provisions. The new shirt deal will be similar.
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Dan Friedkin's message to Everton fans after completing their takeover.
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“They might point to Villa, Newcastle and West Ham who have all got more valuable deals than that. But Newcastle’s deal is with an owner-linked entity, West Ham’s is with a gambling firm, and Villa were in the Champions League when they agreed their deal. So there will be some margin for error with that £12m estimate, but with the fluctuations in the sponsorship market and other wider context, I don’t think it will be too far out. With a three-to-five year deal, that could be as much as £60m revenue locked in, with clauses taking the total value higher as the deal progresses.”
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