Money Talks: Unveiling the Financial Impact of Online Bookmaker Sponsorships in Football

Football clubs are famous for having betting sites on their shirts. We take a look at the impact of betting sponsorship in football and its future.

Football and the Million Dollar Business of Betting Sponsorship

Sports and betting have always been the unsavoury pair that has proved unbreakable. Proponents of sports gambling will tell you that placing bets on sports events only heightens the anticipation. For the most part, casual punters don't look at it as a problem because it is a chance to show allegiances and back these with real-money bets. Having sports teams brandish different betting brands on their matchday shirts has been part of football for decades now. Partnerships between top-flight football teams and sports betting companies have gone up across all the top leagues.

The Rise of Betting Sponsorship in Football

The global market for sports betting was reported to be at a staggering $218.49 billion in 2019, and experts tipped it to keep growing at a steady 10% for the coming years. The industry is expected to grow to $134.06 billion by 2024. With so much money coming out of sports betting, wagering companies have been more involved in team and athlete sponsorship. Sites like Luxury casino Canada may be late to the party as they are just now looking to partner with team brands.

In the English Premier League, betting companies dominate shirt sponsorships. As of the 2020-21 season, only three clubs did not have any kind of betting sponsorship. Among the 17 that had some kind of betting sponsorship, half kept a betting company as the main shirt sponsor.

This was not the case in the league until the 2002-03 season when Fulham unveiled Betfair as their shirt sponsor for both home and away kits. The trend picked up, and over ten teams in the league had a betting firm as a sponsor by the 2016-17 season. It is little wonder why the sponsorships would go up since the relationship is mutually beneficial, and both parties get a handsome return from their end of the bargain.

Benefits to the Football Club

The mutually beneficial relationship between sports teams and betting companies is about the financial endorsement involved. Clubs get millions in contracts that may run for anything between two to five years. While the exact amounts clubs make from sponsorship deals like these are not disclosed, we can make an informed guess. Daily Mail speculates that the deals bring in an eye-watering £100 million in revenues for clubs that do take them. 

With the huge revenues generated from sponsorship deals like these, it is easy to see why clubs are keen to sign on the dotted line. In other leagues across the world, sports betting companies have had just as swift of a takeover for shirt sponsorships.

La Liga is yet another league where betting companies have gained traction for their sponsorship deals. At the time, the deal between Real Madrid and sports betting company Bwin was the most expensive, as the company bought shirt sponsorship rights from 2007 to 2013. Since then, 17 clubs have taken on sponsorships by betting companies, with 8 of them putting the brand on their shirts.

Clubs may also gain traction in areas where they may not have reached. Gambling companies that sponsor international football clubs take the brands to different parts of the world where they may not have gained acceptance. As the main betting partner for clubs, online gambling sites introduce such clubs to new audiences.

For the Betting Sites

Betting sites were not quite the first pick for football teams looking for sponsors. The idea of a shirt sponsor was not a thing, to begin with, and most sponsors would depend on pitch-side banners to get their brands out there. Today, the seemingly obvious partnership has raked in millions for established names and helped little-known brands come to the limelight.

Betting companies benefit from the visibility that they get when their brands are seen on player shirts. Football fanaticism is a big part of the reason brands will pay millions to get themselves on the front of shirts. Fans faithful to one team will more likely than not gravitate to the brand they see on their club shirt when making their bets. The numbers don't lie, as the annual turnover for online gambling in the UK is estimated at £5 billion. With such figures, the online gambling industry is booming. Betting companies know just how important visibility can be in getting a share of this lucrative market.

Having betting sites plastered on team shirts is one way to get the gambling industry to gain legitimacy among the public. Institutions like football clubs are well-loved. By associating with these clubs, sports betting companies are hoping to change perceptions of the industry among sports fans.

What Are the Risks to Clubs

The benefits that come with betting sponsorship are evident. Companies will pay huge sums to get a bit of visibility when it comes to shirt sponsorship. However, there are aspects of such a partnership that clubs would be well advised to keep in mind. The top among the issues to worry about is reputation. Gambling companies are prone to scandals, and these could reflect badly on any clubs whose brand is associated with them. Club supporters opposed to gambling boycotting the club came at a cost owing to a drop in shirt and ticket sales, among other boycotts. That companies can pull out sponsorship abruptly is yet another reason clubs should be concerned about partnering with sports betting companies.

The Future of Betting Sponsorship in Football

Betting sponsorship on football shirts has come under fire in the UK, Italy, and Spain. The English Premier League, La Liga, and Seria A are all looking to reduce gambling advertisements. In the Spanish league, advertisements on the shirts have been banned since 2019. The league is clamping down on clubs even further as it looks to ban betting advertisements inside stadia. Spanish clubs will take a hit worth €80 million.

The English Premier League is also taking similar measures and taking betting companies off shirt fronts. According to the FA, clubs will be prohibited from using betting companies as shirt sponsors starting in 2026. The restrictions are going to affect championship teams as well. It is yet to be seen whether SkyBet will have to end its partnership with the Championship which could cost teams £40 million each year. With opponents of betting sponsorship on sports brands looking to get more restrictions set in place, it is only a matter of time before betting sites are completely removed from the visible brand associated with big football clubs.

What's in Store for the Future?

Gambling partnerships present a section of the football business whose intricate workings present all kinds of problems. Blanket bans may not be the key to stopping the whirlwind of betting sponsorship taking over football leagues. With all the financial contributions that betting brands have made to the business of football, an argument can be raised for other so-called harmful brands advertised, like unhealthy fast food and alcohol. While betting and sports have been enjoying a massively rewarding relationship in the past decade or so, the specifics of this partnership will have to go under more scrutiny in the coming years.

- Alistair Prescott, Gambling911.com