Everton has swapped its front-of-shirt sponsorship deal with international betting firm Stake with CMC Markets, a share trading and spread betting platform.
The deal with CMC Markets has been the subject of rumours since March, and comes ahead of a self-imposed ban on front-of-shirt deals between Premier League clubs and betting companies from the 2026/27 season.
CMC’s logo will be displayed on the front of Everton’s men’s women’s and under-21s kits from 2026/27 onwards, with the duration of the deal unconfirmed. All the club has revealed so far is that the deal is ‘multi-year’.
The company’s branding will also be displayed across Everton’s matchday and digital channels, including branding at the men’s Hill Dickinson Stadium, the women’s stadium and historic Everton ground Goodison Park, and the Finch Farm training ground.
Lord Peter Cruddas, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CMC Markets, said: “Football is one of the few passions in life that inspires lifelong commitment because, like financial markets, you invest in your club long-term.
“Supporters are passionate about their clubs, and at CMC Markets, we are passionate about investing and trading. We see that same mindset among many of our clients. They are loyal and strive to achieve success through patience, resilience and confidence.
“Everton is a great club, with a proud history and deep connections to its community. We are proud to partner with a club that shares our core values, identity and passion. Wishing Everton every success for the coming seasons.”
Is Everton working round the betting ban?…
The front-of-shirt ban was approved by 18 of the Premier League’s 20 clubs back in 2023 with Everton voting in favour.
The ban came in the midst of the government’s review of the 2005 Gambling Act, during which many advocates for gambling law reform called for a ban on betting firms working with football clubs – some calling for a ban across the whole of sports.
Premier League clubs decided to move first. While banning front-of-shirt deals, the policy still allows some commercial arrangements with betting companies – sleeve sponsorships, LED pitch perimeter advertising, social media deals, and training kit deals.
CMC is an interesting case in this respect. The firm is a FTSE250 component company, and functions as a financial services firm with its primary products being share trading and financial spread betting.
The firm’s type of spread betting product is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), not the Gambling Commission.
However, the mere mention of ‘betting’ in the product name is sure to raise a few eyebrows among Everton supporters, many of whom expressed frustration with the firm’s choice of Stake as front-of-shirt partner four years ago.
Nonetheless, like all Premier League clubs Everton is in need of financial revenue and profit – the club doesn’t want to be hit with another points deduction or penalty for breaching Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) – and deals like this a valuable commercial pipeline.
CMC Markets is certainly a firm with cash to throw around. The company declared net income of £392.6m for 2025, and the couple behind the company, Lord Peter and Lady Fiona Cruddas, ranked 142nd on the Sunday Times latest Rich list with net worth of £1.16bn.
“This is an important agreement for the club and one that will play a key role in our continued commercial growth,” said Andrew Middleton, Everton’s President of Business Operations.
“Partnerships of this scale help us strengthen revenues, build a more sustainable platform for success and support our ambitions on and off the pitch. We are also excited by the opportunities this creates to deliver a proposition that every Evertonian can be proud of – on matchdays, across digital channels and in the community.
“We look forward to working closely with CMC Markets to bring this partnership to life in a way that is meaningful for our supporters, and to creating moments that reflect the ambition of both organisations.”
Everton still set on working with Stake
And on the topic of Stake, the Australian-Curaçaon online sportsbook and casino has been, as mentioned above, a partner of Everton FC since 2022.
The company’s logo has adorned the front of the Toffees shirts for four years. This will have to come to an end due to the 2026/27 ban, but Everton is not required to draw the curtain on its relationship with the company.
Just before announcing the CMC deal, Everton revealed that Stake had signed on as the club’s new sleeve partner. As with the CMC deal, the partnership is just described as ‘multi-year’ and it is clear how long it ranges for, or how much money is involved.
Also like the CMC deal, the partnership will grant stake visibility across matchday and digital channels, with visible branding at the Hill Dickinson, Goodison, and Finch Farm.
Middleton remarked that Stake has been a “major supporter’ of the blue half of Liverpool for the past four seasons, adding that the renewal reflects “the strength of our relationship”, the “growth of Everton’s commercial partnership portfolio”, and provides a partner that “understands the club, our supporters, and the global reach of Everton”.
“As we continue to build commercial momentum, this agreement demonstrates the value partners see in Everton, our new stadium and the direction of the club,” he continued.
“We are pleased to see our relationship with Stake evolve and look forward to continuing to work together across the coming seasons.”
Stake is one of the most active gambling companies when it comes to sponsorship.
As well as working with Everton, its stacked partnership portfolio includes former Premier League players Sergio Aguero, Patrice Evra and Eden Hazard and UFC fighters Alex Pereira and Max Holloway.
However, the fact that Stake is unlicensed and inactive in the UK has cast some shade over its association with Everton in the past. This association has been flagged extensively by Entain, the owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, in recent months.
Entain has contacted Premier League leadership, the Independent Football Regulatory (IFR), and the governance teams of top-flight clubs maintaining deals with offshore betting firms – including Everton – to raise its arguments.
The FTSE100 firm also recently cited Stake as one of the most active firms on social media, flagging the company’s arrangements with social media influencers which it argues target the UK market, whether inadvertently or not – though it is worth noting that Stake’s website is inaccessible to UK-based users.
Another question mark hanging over Everton’s deal with Stake is how long the government may allow such deals to go on for. The Illegal Gambling Taskforce of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), is actively consulting on whether to ban unlicensed betting companies from sponsoring in all UK sports.
The counterargument in favour of these companies is that the Premier League is a global league, watched by millions around the world, and so their partnerships are targeting these markets and not the UK.
Despite the various pressures these deals are facing, Stake is clearly more than confident that its continuing association with Everton will be worth the money – however much that is.
“Our partnership with Everton has been an important and successful one, and we are proud to continue our relationship with one of English football’s most historic and globally recognised clubs,” said Akhil Sarin, Stake’s Chief Marketing Officer.
“Stake is built around sport, entertainment and culture. The partnerships we choose are deliberate, ambitious, built on innovation and a genuine connection to our global communities.
“Over the past four years, Everton has provided Stake with a powerful platform to connect with audiences around the world, and we have valued the opportunity to support the Club during a landmark period in its history.”
