These days, online gambling seems to be ubiquitous in the world of football. With so many casinos and sportsbooks to choose from, each one attempts to differentiate themselves by offering lucrative perks and promotions to their customers (such as a free welcome bonus, no deposit required), which promise financial rewards for signing up and staying loyal.
However, advertising is another excellent means of getting a brand name out there and establishing a trustworthy reputation. Since many football fans like to bet on the beautiful game – and the Premier League is the most watched in the world, with billions of people tuning in around the globe – it’s no surprise that online casinos would see Premier League teams as an ideal opportunity to reach fans. But where would the latter be without the former? We investigate the topic more thoroughly below.
Many people thought Betfair’s sponsorship of Fulham might be a fad or a flash in the pan compared to the classic shirt sponsors of yesteryear, but instead it has opened the floodgates to casino sponsorship in the sport. For the current 2022/23 season, eight teams have a gambling name or logo on the front of their shirts; the nearest industry in terms of clubs was finance, which sponsors five outfits.
It’s been much the same story across the last five years, too, with the number of clubs enjoying front-of-shirt sponsorship fluctuating between eight and ten over that period. Meanwhile, those deals only involve the kits themselves; many other clubs have official betting partners, with dedicated ads on their websites, stadia, social media and other places of note. Liverpool is in fact one of the only teams to have no affiliations with the world of online gambling.
It’s obvious why the gambling companies want to sponsor such a watched league, but what’s in it for the clubs? Well, unsurprisingly, the motivation here is financial. Online casinos are capable of offering far larger sums than traditional sponsors, with the Daily Mail recently revealing that sponsorship deals were twice as large from gambling firms as other providers.
Liverpool and several other of the “Big Six” clubs have been able to avoid this connection due to their significant revenue streams from other sources, but for smaller clubs, the lure is irresistible. Indeed, accessing the money provided by the online casino industry is the only way that mid- and lower-table teams are able to remain competitive with their wealthier counterparts. Given that Newcastle recently announced a new deal with Fun88, despite their acquisition by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, it’s clear that they still view the money as important, too.
Of course, football clubs generate income via a wide range of means, from gate receipts to TV deals to merchandise sales to outgoing player transfers for some of the best and brightest names to grace Anfield (and other stadia in the country). However, the reason that the Premier League has been able to remain the most exciting (and richest) in the world is precisely due to its abundance of revenue streams.
Without the influx of money from online casinos, it’s almost certain that the record sums being spent on transfers in recent years would not have changed hands. Indeed, it’s likely that fewer transfers for smaller fees would have occurred instead, with player wages receiving a knock-on reduction, as well. Whether or not that’s a good thing or a bad thing is down to personal perspective, but there is no denying that football clubs have benefited from the extremely deep pockets of online casinos.
Will gambling sponsorship remain as prevalent in the Premier League and the wider world of football going forwards? Unless targeted legislation comes into force, the current trend seems certain to continue.
Written by Alan Spencer