Every franchise competing in The Hundred has secured a front-of-shirt sponsor from outside the betting industry ahead of the 2026 season, ensuring no team will begin the competition with a gambling company as its primary shirt partner, according to a report by Cricinfo.
The last-minute commercial agreements mean the temporary provision allowing franchises to turn to betting sponsors as a final option ultimately went unused, while also clearing the way for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to introduce a blanket ban on visible betting sponsorships from the 2027 season.
Vikram Banerjee, The Hundred’s Managing Director, told Cricinfo: “From next year, it’ll be banned. You have to acknowledge that gambling and the betting industry is a massive part of sports sponsorship… [But] there’ll be no visible betting sponsorships from next year, which is a powerful stand and stronger than any other cricket league.”
Franchises complete late commercial deals
The sponsorship outcome represents a significant turnaround from earlier in the summer. When teams unveiled their playing kits in June, only three franchises had confirmed front-of-shirt partners, raising the prospect that some clubs could rely on the ECB’s one-season exemption permitting betting sponsorships.
Instead, the remaining franchises completed agreements before the opening match, bringing in principal partners from sectors including financial services, logistics, health insurance and real estate.
“It has been a collaborative effort from teams and partners and ourselves to see if we can get other options through. It has ended up working well… We’ve found a decent, sensible and pragmatic approach for this year,” Banerjee noted.
Why betting sponsorships remained an option for 2026
The ECB introduced the temporary exemption as The Hundred entered a new commercial era following the sale of stakes in all eight franchises to private investors in transactions worth more than £500 million. With host counties and investors taking responsibility for commercial operations, teams negotiated their own sponsorship agreements for the first time rather than operating under a centrally managed model.
Those changes coincided with a more competitive sponsorship market after the Premier League confirmed it would phase out front-of-shirt betting sponsors from the 2026-27 season, prompting the ECB to allow gambling partnerships only as a last-resort measure for this year’s competition.
“We felt as a board that this year – with all the operational change that’s going on, all the transition that’s happening, plus, frankly, quite a challenging market with the Premier League going through changes and all the rest of it – [that] just a one-year transition period was helpful for some of the teams to see them through this year,” Banerjee said.
The temporary policy also included several safeguards. Any betting partnership had to meet a minimum valuation, players could opt to wear sponsor-free shirts because of religious beliefs or personal views, and gambling branding was prohibited on children’s replica kits.
Family-friendly positioning remains central
Although some franchises may still carry betting logos elsewhere on their kits during the 2026 season, the ECB’s long-term direction is now firmly established, with all visible betting sponsorships set to disappear from The Hundred from next year.
“We – myself and the ECB – are very aware of the family audience and what we’re trying to do as a brand. Our position was to see if we can get it banned for this year. We had a good discussion and the [Hundred] board agreed, in my parts, that it’s an opportunity for us to take a stand that is stronger than any other sport in the world,” Banerjee added.
Beyond the sponsorship changes, the 2026 campaign also marks the competition’s first season under its new ownership structure following the private investment process. The ECB is also simplifying how the tournament is presented by moving away from the use of the term “sets” and placing renewed emphasis on the 100-ball format.
The competition will additionally introduce the Hundred Helix, a new trophy combining results from the men’s and women’s tournaments to crown an overall champion, with equal prize money awarded across the men’s, women’s and overall titles.
