There is no certainty betting firms will be banned from advertising on football club shirts when the Government's review of Britain's gambling laws concludes later this year, according to Whitehall sources.
The development comes as a Mail on Sunday 'audit' reveals that the 92 clubs in England's top four divisions have at least 193 separate sponsorship or advertising contracts with gambling firms between them, collectively worth £116.8 million.
Of those 193 deals, eight are shirt sponsors of Premier League clubs, 12 are shirt sponsors in the Championship, and two are shirt sponsors in the bottom two divisions, although neither of those, while still 'principal partners', appear on the shirts (at Ipswich and Wigan) after fan kickback at the agreements.