Gambling Companies And Football Teams (Sponsorship Details)

Wagering upon the outcomes of football matches is today a major international business, with fans now able to place bets on matches that are taking place on entirely different continents. Thanks to many of the best supported clubs enjoying a global network of supporters that in many cases amount to several million, there’s an enormous number of potential customers that can be tapped through a gaming company forming a sponsorship arrangement with a club. Indeed in recent years, looking at the English Premier League as an example, Gambling Companies have overtaken alcohol as the leading shirt sponsor with no less than 8 of 20 clubs kicking off the 2015-2016 season with a betting company logo across their shirts.

Gambling Companies And Soccer clubs

Gambling Companies And Football Teams

What’s especially interesting is that the gambling companies aren’t just those high street regulars – in fact the majority are young, online based companies that may not have even existed just a few years before. The trend is also not exclusive to the leading clubs or unique to the UK – smaller clubs have also been signed up by many gambling companies, and internationally some of the leading brands are also now used to promote gaming companies when once it would have been international business conglomerates and airlines.

The modern era of gambling

Why Do Digitally Based Gaming Companies Sponsor Football Teams?

The smartphone revolution has simply changed the face of sports betting. While casino games and slots remain incredibly popular, as demonstrated by the daily thousands who play slot machines at All Jackpots casino for example, in-play match betting with constantly updating odds has revolutionized football gambling. With most major matches being available to watch live across the world, there’s a huge market opened up for supporters to bet throughout the match and a huge variety of markets to explore.

It’s no longer just about the result, goal scorers, number of corners, red cards and everything in between can now be bet upon as the match is played out. The popularity of football betting has been an additional development in the gaming market with no evidence that it has eaten into revenue streams associated with casino and slot games – the football market is new money, and there’s a huge amount of it. Although it’s difficult to compile international figures, conservative estimates suggest that online gambling on football matches was worth $40bn a season.

Soccer clubs with gambling companies

It’s Now Ubiquitous For Clubs To Have A ‘Gaming Partner’

Remember that clubs have many sponsorship deals – the most prominent kit based logo is always associated with the most valuable deal, however clubs have often hundreds of smaller endorsement arrangements. By way of an example Manchester United pioneered corporate associations back in the 1990s and now have several hundred deals ranging from kit sponsor to ‘official’ foods, insurance arrangements and even shaving gel.

Gaming companies can’t get enough of these partnerships as even pairing up with a low profile/status club can still provide access to many thousands of people. A common promotional arrangement is to offer excellent value bonuses and enhanced odds to supporters of the club that they sponsor, bringing in huge amounts of revenue at the same time.

The gambling in soccer world

Is There A Conflict Of Interest?

There’s no evidence that associations with gaming companies presents a conflict of interest, as clubs have to sign a statement of confidence that they will not allow their endorsement partners to influence their sporting operations in any way. Strict rules are in place to prevent players from gambling on any matches they could conceivably have an influence over, and there have been a few high profile prosecutions leading to lengthy bans for players who ignore such directives.

As online gaming continues to rise in popularity, there’s a good chance that casino sites will increasingly look towards also entering into sports-book style bookmaking too. One thing is for sure, football and gambling are now very profitably entwined.

Gambling Companies have turned out the major sponsors for the football teams and for sure that would have worked perfectly for them.