The connection between football and betting has always been a strong one. Decades of experience proved that where there is football, there is also betting. In the UK, this connection has become even stronger in recent years with the introduction of the boku deposit casino and other digital gambling websites and the consequent increase in gambling sponsorships in English football.
Football and betting are seen as almost inseparable in this country, with many people seeing the two as completely intertwined. In this article, we are going to cover every aspect of gambling sponsorships in English football. From the biggest deals to the most controversial ones, we have it all covered. So without further ado, let’s get started.
A Brief History Of Gambling Sponsorships In English Football
The first recorded case of betting sponsorship in English football dates back to 1902 when Stoke City were sponsored by the Betting and Racing Exchange. In those days, gambling was still illegal in many parts of the world, and so this was a very controversial move.
The following decades saw a gradual increase in the number of gambling sponsorships in English football, as the legalisation of betting in many countries made it more acceptable. By the 1970s and 1980s, betting companies were sponsoring a number of teams in the top-flight of English football, including Aston Villa, Ipswich Town, and Manchester City.
The 1990s saw a significant increase in gambling sponsorships, as the introduction of the Premier League created a more global audience for English football. This led to many more betting companies sponsoring Premier League teams, including Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool.
The Current Situation
The current situation regarding gambling sponsorships in English football is a complicated one. On the one hand, the government is cracking down on gambling advertising, with a full ban on betting ads coming into force in 2023.
On the other hand, many of the biggest clubs in the country, including Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool, still have gambling companies as their principal sponsors. It is clear that gambling and football are still very closely linked in this country, but it remains to be seen how long this will continue.
One thing we need to notice is that new technologies have made a big breakthrough in the field of sports betting. The development of different tools, platforms, and payment systems allowed people to gamble using their mobile phones, and this has led to a significant increase in gambling sponsorships of English football clubs.
Today, more users are placing bets online than ever before, and this is likely to continue in the future. That’s why digital betting providers keep growing every year, thus becoming a more influential business partners. In such circumstances, it’s impossible to neglect their impact and hard to believe that EPL will give up on them just like that.
Who Are The Most Notable Participants?
Now that you know enough about the general situation in English football, it’s time to take a look at the present-day deals. In this section, we are going to list the notable betting deals and sponsorships in the UK. Here are the teams that strongly cooperate with betting companies and even have their logos on jerseys:
- Brentford
- Burnley
- Birmingham
- Bristol City
- Crystal Palace
- Coventry City
- Derby County
- Leeds
- Middlesbrough
- Newcastle
- Southampton
- Stoke City
- Watford
- West Ham
- Wolves
As you can see, there are no superstar teams like Manchester City or Arsenal with betting logos on their shirts. However, don’t let it mislead you – the amounts of money these clubs get from the gambling industry are still impressive.
For instance, four of the big six EPL members have at least some sort of an arrangement with companies coming from the gambling business: Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City, and Tottenham.
How Much Do Clubs Receive?
The exact amount that each club receives from its gambling sponsorships is unknown, as it is usually kept confidential between the club and the sponsor. However, we can make some educated guesses based on media reports.
According to Daily Mail, those deals are estimated to be worth a combined £100million a year. It’s a staggering figure, but it becomes much easier to comprehend it when you know that almost 50% of all teams in the EPL (9 out of 20) have gambling companies as business supporters. We must also add six Championship names to that list.
In such circumstances, it’s hard to imagine the gambling industry not being interested in sponsoring football clubs. After all, it is estimated that the annual turnover for online gambling in the UK is around £5 billion.
What Are The Benefits For The Clubs?
Aside from the obvious financial benefits, there are a number of other reasons why clubs might want to enter into partnerships with gambling companies.
One of the most important is that it can help them to reach new audiences. For example, a gambling company might be able to use its database of customers to market tickets and merchandise to people who might not otherwise be interested in football.
It can also help to legitimise the gambling industry in the eyes of the public. By associating itself with a well-loved institution like a football club, a gambling company can help to change people’s perceptions of the industry.
Finally, it should be noted that many of the biggest gambling companies in the world are based in the UK. This means that there is a large pool of potential sponsors for English clubs to choose from.
What Are The risks For Clubs?
While there are clearly some benefits to partnering with a gambling company, there are also some risks that clubs need to be aware of. The most obvious is that it could damage the club’s reputation. If a gambling company was to get involved in a scandal, it could reflect badly on the club.
There is also a risk that the relationship could turn sour. If a gambling company was to pull out of its sponsorship deal, it could leave the club in a difficult financial position. Finally, there is a danger that the club could become too closely associated with gambling. This could lead to the club losing supporters who are opposed to gambling.
Overall, it seems that the benefits of partnering with a gambling company outweigh the risks. However, it is important for clubs to be aware of the risks before entering into any kind of agreement.
Why Do Betting Companies Sponsor Football Clubs?
Gambling companies sponsor football clubs for a number of reasons. The most obvious is that it gives them a lot of exposure to potential customers. A gambling company that sponsors a football club will have its logo on the team’s shirt, which means that it will be seen by millions of people around the world.
That way, a relatively unknown brand can become much more familiar to the general public. If you know that more than two billion people watch football on a regular basis, it becomes much clearer why gambling companies are willing to pay huge sums of money to sponsor clubs.
What’s even more important, football fans are pretty much the same audience that gambling companies are trying to target. They are usually young men who are interested in sport and have disposable income. In other words, they are exactly the kind of people who are most likely to gamble.
In addition, sponsoring a football club can help to change people’s perceptions of the gambling industry. By associating itself with a well-loved institution, a gambling company can help to improve its image in the eyes of the public.
A gambling company can use its sponsorship of a football club to generate positive press coverage. For example, a company might donate money to a club’s academy or sponsor a player who comes through the academy. It helps online bookies to be seen as more than just faceless companies that people gamble with.
The Future Of Betting Sponsorships In English Football
The future of gambling sponsorships in English football is hard to predict. The government’s crackdown on gambling-related advertising could lead to a reduction in the number of gambling sponsorships, but it is also possible that the biggest clubs will simply replace their gambling sponsors with other companies.
However, we don’t really believe online sportsbooks will withdraw from the sponsorship game anytime soon. The benefits that they get from sponsoring a football club are just too great. The same goes for football teams as well as the entire EPL – they get too much money from gambling companies to give up those deals easily.
Only time will tell how this situation develops, but one thing is for sure: the connection between football and gambling is not going away anytime soon. It will take years before we know the full extent of the government’s ban and how it will affect English football. For the time being, we can only wait and see.
But if you want our honest opinion, we will tell it directly: We think that gambling sponsorships will continue to be a big part of English football for the foreseeable future.
Follow AD for more updates.