Football seems to have a special affinity with gambling. Almost 60% of football clubs in England’s top two divisions are sponsored by gambling operators this season. It also means 9 of 20 clubs in the Premier League will have logos of gaming firms on their shirts. According toresearch conducted by the BBC in 2016, 95% of British football matches broadcasted on TV included one or more gambling advertisements during commercial breaks.
The History of Gambling Sponsorships
The sponsorship of football clubs by gambling firms can be dated back to over a decade ago, and it has since become a fast-growing trend. Online gaming company Bwin.Party, now a part of GVC, was a sponsor of Real Madrid for five years before the agreement between the two ended in 2012. The gambling firm then moved on to sponsor Manchester United. With its partnership with Real Madrid, Bwin.Party was able to get hold of 20% of Spain’s gaming market.
Genting Casino was the sponsor of Aston Villa F.C. for the 2012 season. The land-based casino giant that operates 42 physical casinos across the UK signed a 2-year agreement with the Premier Football Club. The deal contributed to the 2015 launch of Resorts World Birmingham, Genting’s first casino resort in the UK.
32Red has been a prominent sponsor of teams in the Championship. The award-winning online casino offers more than 500 casino games for players to enjoy, including blackjack, roulette, sports betting and poker. It is also a significant investor of UK Horse Racing. 32Red has previously sponsored Aston Villa and Swansea City and is now sponsoring Leeds United and Rangers.
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The Latest Trends
Liverpool is not lagging when it comes to obtaining sponsorships with gambling companies, with Paddy Power and Misli.com being the football club’s previous sponsors. In 2014, Liverpool signed a 2-year sponsorship deal with online betting operator ComeOn, and in 2016, the team agreed to partner with BetVictor for three years. The online casino is a current principal sponsor of Liverpool F.C.
Queens Park Rangers kicked off the 2017-18 season by signing a three-year partnership with Royal Panda. Founded in 2014, Royal Panda is one of the fastest growing online casinos on the gambling market.
We’re expecting even more football/gambling partnerships to arise this season, especially when looking at firms like Unibet sponsoring more than one team, namely Aston Villa, Preston North End, and Middlesbrough.
In case you are wondering whether this is only a UK phenomenon. Italy is following a very similar trend with Lottomatica, the leading online gambling firm, sponsoring five football teams including Roma, Napoli, Milan, Sampdoria Genua, and Lazio.