Outrage as schoolboy players from Premier League teams are used to promote betting sponsors on their shirts - despite not being old enough to gamble

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Schoolboy players from a host of Premier League teams are being used to promote betting sponsorships, despite not yet being old enough to gamble.

Top clubs such as Newcastle and West Ham face a crackdown on gambling sponsorship after their junior players were spotted being used to promote sites such as Betway and Bet365.

While some clubs even advertise betting sites to younger fans who are able to play casino games without needing prior age verification, a Sunday Times investigation revealed.

Schoolboy players from a host of Premier League teams are being used to promote betting sponsorship deals, despite not yet being old enough to gamble (pictured from left: Newcastle United's Lewis Cass, 17, and West Ham's Joshua Okocha, 17)

Cartoon gambling games offered up by Fun88, sponsors of Newcastle United, include Penguin Splash, Big Top Circus and Santa Paws which can all be accessed with using only a bank card.

Swansea City's sponsor Letou offers games such as Wacky Panda, Mermaids Millions and Snow Queen Riches.

The Remote Gambling Association told the Times their investigation had exposed breaches in the advertising rules at some Premier League clubs, and there had been a lack of oversight.

In total, Britain's gambling companies contribute almost £50m in revenue to Premier League teams in terms of sponsorship deals.

Nine clubs have betting companies as their main shirt sponsors across their chest while Watford and West Bromwich Albion have gambling companies as shirt-sleeve sponsors.

Both Stoke and West Ham removed pictures from their official club websites of younger players involved in the gambling ads. Afterwards they claimed the pictures had been uploaded 'inadvertently'.

Nine clubs have betting companies as their main shirt sponsors across their chest while Watford and West Bromwich Albion have gambling companies as shirt-sleeve sponsors (pictured: Stoke City's Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting with the Bet365 logo across his chest)

While Swansea City removed its gambling sponsor Letou from the Junior Jacks section of its website. Newcastle said it was investigating.

Hitting out at the use of under-18s in advertising, Clive Hawkswood, chief executive of the Remote Gambling Association said the use of schoolboys is 'inappropriate.'

'The problem is that it is not being looked at by gambling compliance people but marketing guys at the football clubs. They just treat it as any other product,' he added.