Football and Casinos: A Look at Club Sponsorship Deals

 Football is the biggest sport in the world. Over three billion people tune in to watch their local leagues, as well as international tournaments like the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Super League, and the Copa America. Naturally, the huge success of the sport has managed to attract a huge amount of sponsors. Football clubs have teamed up with airlines, clothing brands, vehicle brands, and more.

The 21st century has seen a surge in gambling. People are doing it professionally and on an amateur level, more than any point in human history. A big reason for that is the rise of online casinos. Fans can now access Revolut casinos in the UK just by pushing a couple of buttons. Of course, the industry’s growth has facilitated opportunities for collaboration. We can certainly see that in sponsorship deals between massive casino brands, and popular football clubs worldwide.






The Premier League

When discussing football clubs, it is impossible not to bring up the English Premier League. Established in the 1990s, the Premier League is the top level of English football, bringing together some of the country’s most celebrated, beloved, and popular clubs. There isn’t a football fan alive who has not heard the name Manchester United. Despite their recent drop in success, they remain one of England’s most popular and beloved teams.

Naturally, when businesses look to step into sponsorship deals, they go based on popularity. Since the Premier League is at the top of the proverbial mountain, that is where most bookies and casinos start. It would certainly seem that they’ve hit the jackpot there. According to a recent study, more than half of all the clubs participating in the English Premier League wear shirts that feature a gambling sponsor’s logo.

The most recent club to enter a deal with a sportsbook is Bournemouth, who will now proudly display the logo on their shirts. However, the club is not breaking any grounds. Crystal Palace, the Wolverhampton Wolves, Leicester City, West Ham United, and Southampton all display a casino’s brand on their gear. Speculations place the worth of these deals at over 40 million Pounds collectively, which is certainly an impressive number.

Outside the Premier League

The Premier League may be the most popular of the European domestic tournaments, but it isn’t the only one. The Spanish La Liga has often been called the EPL’s biggest financial competitor, boasting two of the world’s biggest clubs (Real Madrid and Barcelona), being home to the most notable and hardcore football rivalry (El Clasico), and also having a reputation for having some of the best players. Naturally, plenty of casinos are doing their best to partner up with the noteworthy clubs. Sevilla FC, for example, has been working with quite a prominent gambling website for a while now.

Over in France, we have the Ligue 1, which, while the least popular of the five big European leagues, still gets a lot of national and international attention. Particularly well-known is the Paris club, Paris Saint-Germain. Up until recently, the French club was home to Kylian Mbappe, often considered the Ronaldo or the Messi of the next generation, as well as a few of the players who won the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Their global success has greatly contributed to sponsors wanting to collaborate with the club, and indeed, Paris Saint-Germain has worked with a famous casino in the past.

Sponsorships Outside of Clubs

Gambling and betting companies don’t just collaborate with clubs. They’ve also often worked with individual players, or even entire tournaments. For example, Cristiano Ronaldo, the biggest star in football right now, has worked prominently with casinos in the past, and may have been a pretty savvy and skilled gambler in his own right. While in his 40s, C7 is still working hard, playing for the Saudi team Al-Nassr, proving that he truly is one of the best of all time.

We can name plenty of players who’ve worked in tandem with casinos, in order to advertise the product. However, instead, let us look at an entire event. The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is, without a doubt, one of the most popular football tournaments in the world. The best clubs from all over Europe come together and face off in what might be the biggest club competition since the FIFA Club World Cup. For the past few years, the UCL has displayed the logo of one of the most prominent online betting and gambling sites in the world.

We clearly see that there is a precedent for casinos to work with football clubs, players, and organizations. But, the question we have to ask is why? Why do casinos want to look for sponsors among sports teams and organizers? More importantly, why do said teams and organizers welcome the sponsorship deals?

The Financial Benefits of Sponsorships

We mentioned before that over half of English Premier League clubs now wear the logos of casino websites. However, what we did not bring up is that casino sponsorship deals now make up over 15% of the total amount of sponsors, not just in the EPL, but in English football in general, meaning that online casinos are the most represented among sponsors in England’s football scene. The reason for that is because casino sponsorships come as a blessing to many of the smaller clubs that don’t have the backing of millionaires.

The money from working with casinos has afforded many clubs the ability to improve their infrastructure, such as training grounds, equipment, and more. It has allowed them to select a better quality of players during transfer season, and has given some of the smaller clubs the ability to advance in levels. Some have even managed to enter the Premier League for the first time in their long history. We understand, therefore, why clubs might want to work with casinos, but what about the other way around?

Presumably, iGaming websites want to get their name out there, and attract new fans. What better way to do that than by having their logos displayed on the fields during games in the most prominent sport worldwide? We said before, but football has over 3 billion fans around the world. There is a pretty good chance that some of them will enjoy slots.

©The Football History Boys, 2023 

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