The ECB and The Hundred Board have agreed an emergency clause permitting gambling firms to sponsor teams in the 2026 season of the competition.
The move was triggered by three of the tournament’s eight teams failing to secure front-of-shirt financial backing just days before the competition’s 21 July 2026 start date.
The Hundred was established by the ECB in 2021 with an explicit family-friendly focus, aiming to modernise cricket through live DJs, digital marketing, and free-to-air broadcasting deals.
For much of its history, the competition’s commercial activity was centrally managed by the ECB, with KP Snacks serving as the overarching sponsor and providing front-of-shirt branding across all eight teams.
With close to 40% of teams unable to secure a shirt sponsor, the ECB convened an emergency meeting with The Hundred Board, resulting in what was described as a “last resort” decision.
An ECB spokesman told Telegraph Sport: “While on-kit betting partnerships are permitted in county cricket and many other cricket leagues around the world, The Hundred board has agreed that they should be banned in The Hundred, given the competition’s family-friendly focus.”
The spokesman added: “Consensus was therefore reached amongst the teams to permit on-kit betting partnerships in 2026, subject to a number of strict parameters.”
Any gambling sponsorship approved for the 2026 season will be banned from 2027 onwards, and all deals must meet a financial threshold before receiving formal approval from the board.
Individual players retain the right to remove gambling branding from their shirts, under-18 players will automatically receive unbranded kits, and children’s replica shirts will also exclude all betting logos.
All sponsorship arrangements must comply with the Code of Conduct on betting sponsorships established through the Gambling Act review White Paper published in April 2023.
Teams that fail to attract a gambling or alternative sponsor are not required to sign any deal, meaning they could enter the field with blank front-of-shirt space throughout the season.
The 2026 campaign represents a significant transitional moment for the competition, as it is the first season under a new private ownership model following the ECB’s sale of stakes in all eight teams.
Three teams have adopted new names to align with their Indian Premier League ownership connections, and five have changed their colours since last summer, marking a broader reboot of the league.
The decision cuts against the wider direction of UK sport, as Premier League clubs have already committed to removing gambling brands from shirt fronts from the 2026-27 season, a shift estimated to cost the league around £80m in lost revenue.
Nine Premier League clubs were reportedly without front-of-shirt sponsors as recently as April, highlighting how difficult the commercial transition away from betting partners has proven across British sport.
