Explaining Sponsorship Deals in the Betting Sphere

In the summer of 2024, the topic of the prevalence of gambling sponsorships hit the United Kingdom news cycle again, as Bournemouth became the eleventh team from the Premier League to have a betting sponsor. That occurred even though England’s top-flight clubs came to an agreement to limit wagering sponsorship in April 2023. Yet, those restrictions will become activated two years from now, allowing franchises to get into bed (in the same way) with gambling operators until then, something that has also been happening in droves in the US after the fall of PASPA in 2018, one sports betting became legal in the United States.

The reason there is so much pushback on this relationship between gambling companies and sports teams is that these sponsorship deals prominently display betting brands to wider audiences, including minors and those at risk of developing a compulsion towards sports wagering. Many fear such availability and acceptance of gambling will normalize this pastime, and Sports organizations might become overly financially dependent on betting, which can impact the integrity of sports. Hence, some sections of fans are concerned about their favored teams/athletes promoting gambling, which impacts their engagement with the sport.

Nevertheless, despite these worries, the sporting arena and the gambling one seem to be more intertwined with every passing year. Here, we look to elaborate more on the link between these two realms and what effects their relationship produces.

The History of Sports & Gambling Sponsorships

Most laypeople are unaware that until recently, gambling was not a legalized entertainment form in most developed countries. As noted above, in the US, this activity had a federal ban imposed on it everywhere except in Nevada until 2018. Aside from the UK and Spain, in Europe, most other countries with high-end football leagues allowed sports betting in the past fifteen years.

In 2001, Fulham FC entered the Premier League for the first time, and the following year, it came to an agreement with betting exchange Betfair for this brand to get its domain (Betfair.com) featured on the team’s kit. It is vital to note that this sponsorship got struck years before the UK passed its Gambling Act (2005), which regulated online betting. Before that occurred, much of this field got regulated by the Betting and Gaming Duties Act of 1981, which imposed various advertising restrictions on gambling. Nonetheless, most of these pertained to advertising on radio and TV. Print ads and sponsorships faced fewer limitations, and since Betfair was a betting exchange and not a classic bookmaker, they were able to navigate the UK regulatory landscape and enter into a marketing partnership with Fulham FC, who, the following year, replaced Betfair with former e-commerce retailer Dabs.com.

In 2005, West Ham teamed up with Bet24, and two years later, Tottenham joined forces with Mansion, an online casino group that became the Spurs shirt sponsor for four years, paying £34 million for this privilege. Manchester United joined forces with Betfair in 2009, and while these deals were being made in England. In Spain, which legalized sports betting in December 2006, Real Madrid signed on in 2007 to carry Bwin’s logo on its shirt. It did so until 2013.

So, these were the roots of notable gambling sponsorships in professional sports. US-wise, quickly after the fall of PASPA, Major League Baseball was the first US pro sporting league to jump at the opportunity to get some gambling money, as it went into a multi-year agreement with MGM Resorts in November 2018 for this casino brand to be the MLB’s official gaming partner.

Types of Sponsorships

Teams usually sell the rights to real estate on their uniforms or other gear. They can also give away stadium naming rights and those of their training facilities. These deals can expand to branded merchandise featuring the team and its gambling sponsor, and they also may sell off rights for an operator to advertise on the franchise’s social media or digital platforms.

Sporting events/competitions may also have betting sponsors, who can insert their names in promo materials as official partners and create engaging activities and experiences at the event venue.

Of course, athletes also can sign agreements with gambling entities similar to the ones they pen with sportswear brands, where they promote a company through advertisements, social media posts, and public appearances and earn performance bonuses based on how well they do in their respective competitions. Retired athletes, on the other hand, usually serve as sportsbook’s brand ambassadors. Or they appear as hosts/co-hosts of a brand’s podcast. BetUS, a site we have reviewed, has done this with ex-NBA and NFL players.

Impact on the Betting Industry

The benefit for an operator is the unparalleled brand exposure they get via these agreements that lead to their logos getting plastered over jerseys, stadium signage, or other promo materials. It gets their name out there, familiarizing millions with what they offer. We say the latter because the aim is for an operator to supply exclusive betting promotions to fans of the sponsored team, driving acquisitions. They do this by running integrated marketing campaigns through a multi-channel approach, and they team up with franchises as a way to break into new markets. Whenever a gambling operator looks to enter a region that has just permitted betting fun, the most effective way to get their name out there in that territory is through a sponsorship, as gambling companies usually do not get allowed marketing opportunities via traditional means.

Modern sports apps look to leverage user data to supply personalized betting recommendations that enhance the viewing experience, and TV broadcasts now do this also through elements like live odds displays and betting tips. For example, UFC is a Stake partner and a DraftKings one, and it showed what it called Vegas odds for its featured contests during TV and PPV broadcasts.

Therefore, without question, sponsorships have a massive influence on the betting sector by enhancing brand visibility and facilitating market expansion.

Gambling Sponsorship Codes of Conduct

To combat the dramatic rise of this phenomenon and the sizeable effect it can have on the masses, many sports leagues have implemented sponsorship codes of conduct. The British Horseracing Authority, in July 2024, announced such a set of rules that asked those entities from this landscape that get funds by way of marketing agreements with gambling operators to reinvest a portion into the sport, look to maintain its integrity, protect young people from gambling harms, and ensure that the promotion of wagering pastimes occurs in a socially responsible manner.

Around this time, the ELA, The Premier League, and the Women’s Super League have also gone public with their novel gambling-related agreements code. Under it, operators must make conscious efforts to avoid reaching children and at-risk individuals to develop gambling addiction in their marketing campaigns. They also must add educational initiatives on problem gambling and promote responsible betting. As noted above, in 2026, EPL clubs will enforce a self-imposed ban on front-shirt gambling sponsors.

Most of these codes of conduct and marketing restrictions occur in England because it has the most developed gambling market in the Old Continent with the strictest regulator, whose practices get mimicked by other top-end European ones. Therefore, what is happening in the UK should be repeated in other European regions soon.

Concerning the US, this is a more capitalistic-oriented region, with operators that have much influence in the political sphere and where the gambling sector has the potential to bring in much more money. Accordingly, such changes are less expected to transpire in this market in the near future.

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