The rise of Casino Sponsorship in the Premier League
In the 80s and 90s the types of available sponsorship varied according to the competition in which the team played. The sponsor grows proportionally with the size of the team. When the British government and the Football Association banned tobacco companies from being shirt sponsors, together with a decline in sponsorship by the alcohol industry, a new market segment opened up, sponsors from the gambling industry. We have seen how this corner filled up and grew rapidly in the past decade, thanks to huge investments from international betting companies.
Going hand in hand
Gambling is omnipresent in football, from boards along the field and TV commercials to shirt sponsorship. Only three Premier League clubs are not sponsored by a gambling company from the 2019/20 season onwards. Ten of the remaining 17 clubs will even have the logos of those companies embroidered on their jerseys. The gambling industry has played an important role in the growth of revenues and expenses of football teams and franchises, with commercial revenues for the 26 teams in the two highest leagues in England already expected to reach €225.2 million in 2018.
Marketing of gambling sites
Sources from news channels say that the English Premier League is one of the most popular football tournaments in the world, with fans from all over the world tuning in to follow the action. Already during the 2019-20 season, half of the Premier League shirts were adorned with the logo of a gambling company, which again raises concerns about the normalization of betting among young fans.
Many gambling companies that offer games like online poker and online blackjack now sponsor the clubs in the premier league. These companies apply a highly effective marketing strategy. This allows them to connect with a large number of sports fans and persuade them to support their company. Many gambling organizations have sponsorship relationships with football clubs worth many millions of dollars.
The trend of Sponsoring Small Teams
Only one team from the Champions League, AEK Athens from Greece, has the name of gambling company Stoixima on their kit. In contrast, 70% of the clubs in England second division, the Championship, have a shirt sponsor contract with a gambling company, five of which with the British online casino 32Red. Lower divisions do not have the same revenues from television and match days as higher divisions, so they have to find money elsewhere to be able to compete. This leads to sponsor deals with the companies that bring in the most money, and those are almost always gambling brands.
Gambling on major sporting events has become commonplace, and with technological advances that make online betting on someones mobile phone possible, anyone can participate at any time. Bookmakers have come a long way since the first land-based casino, but the influence they have on sponsorship and revenues of clubs at all levels has also increased significantly.
While the gambling industry has had a long relationship with football and the various teams, it seems the relationship has stalled, and their position with the sport will have to change if they want to maintain it.
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