Gambling regulations around the World are loosening. This means more and more gambling money being pumped in sports team sponsorships. This has become a topic of contention between
However, let’s now provide some actual info to create an image of the situation. Here are some of the most notable deals with football clubs in the iGaming industry. Both currently and in the previous years.
Spor Toto and Turkey’s football clubs
Let’s start with the monetary “champion”. The government-run organization sponsored Turkey’s top three football leagues from 2010 to 2015. The total amount for the deal was a staggering 125 million USD. Spor Toto Super League was created as a direct result of this deal.
Bwin, Manchester United, Milan, FC Bayern and Real Madrid
The deal cost the company some 25 million USD per year. they’re a partner of FC Bayern Munich and it rebranded Italy’s Serie B championship as “Serie Bwin” in 2010. The 4 year deal with AC Milan also cost the company almost 50 million USD.
Most notably, the gambling company paid almost 100 million USD to Machester United for their logo to be displayed at Old Trafford for 4 years in 2006.
Betfair, premier league clubs and Juventus
Betfair is another gambling giant that sponsors a number of top-class clubs around the World. In 2015, Betfair signed partnership agreements with Arsenal, Leicester City, Sunderland, Southhampton and Aston Villa.
In 2017, Betfair also bagged the football legend – Juventus in an exclusive deal for the following seasons.
Unibet and Aston Villa
Unibet, the flagship brand of Kindred Group is a sponsor to a number of football clubs. The company is an official betting partner of Aston Villa, Middlesborough and Preston North End.
ManBetX, Real Madrid and Crystal Palace
The Malta-based gambling company bagged Crystal Palace FC as a shirt sponsor. A statement from Crystal Palace said:
“The partnership is believed to be the eighth biggest club deal by value in the Premier League, indicating the growing global appeal of Crystal Palace FC.”
In 2018, ManBetX also became Real Madrid’s regional partner in Asia, as well as an Asian betting partner for the entire LaLiga.
Betway and West Ham United
Another Malta-based company Betway made a deal with West Ham United in 2015. The shirt and betting partnership will cost the company almost 13 million USD every year. The English football club seemed excited about the opportunity.
Laba360 and Burney
Chinese iGaming operator Laba360 will be sponsoring Burney. The partnership was unveiled in 2018 and has become the biggest financial deal in the history of the English club.
Bottom line
It’s no coincidence that a lot of these deals are between English football clubs and Asian betting companies. Asia has a huge market for gambling. The UK has a huge market for gambling as well as an amazingly popular professional football scene. Seems like a match made in heaven. The UK also has some of the loosest rules on gambling in the EU. This makes the country a natural target for some of the best online casinos in the World in order to get their names out there. The morality and the social consequences of these processes aside, these partnerships are some of the most lucrative and largest in these club’s histories. This provides the necessary funds for a lot of them to function and progress.