The English Premier League football is described as the most powerful and most famous football league in the world, yet for the past many years, it has been governed by the so-called "big six" teams. The Portuguese league cup is another quite renowned cup.
Several gambling companies are sponsoring the championship. They are also organising bigger brand awareness campaigns to gain an audience.
Facilitating sponsorship deals with betting gambling firms have proven to be one of the most profitable solutions in recent years. There are numerous premier league gambling sponsors available. They have sponsoring football clubs as well.
Issues have been expressed about "legitimising" betting amongst children and fueling addictions, therefore the connection between the gambling industry and sport has become a sensitive subject.
Why are asian companies sponsoring football teams?
Spor Toto, a Turkish gambling sponsorship in sport, is the largest casino operator in sport, having five active arrangements totalling $29.5 million (£23.3 million), along with a $28 million (£22.1 million) deal with the Turkish Süper Lig.Fans in England may be best aware of Betway and Unibet, which Sportcal ranked as the industry's second and third largest sponsors, with $23.1 million (£18.24 million) and $22.5 million (£17.8 million) respectively. These are the best-known brands.
However, many of the Premier League's enterprises are based in Asia, notably Fun88 at Newcastle United, M88 at Bournemouth, and W88 at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Due to the obvious Premier League's international reach, many Asian firms utilise its jersey endorsements as marketing buy to showcase their service to their intended market in Asia.
Sponsorship deals including betting are more frequent
Just one Champions League team, AEK Athens of Greece, has the title of Stoixima on their uniform.Bwin, an Austrian company, was a long-time sponsor of Real Madrid, but the six-year deal expired in 2013.
In comparison, 70 percent of clubs ranked in the second division in England, the Championship, have a jersey sponsorship contract with a corporation as football teams sponsored, with five of which were with British online casino 32Red. This gambling sponsorship is important to them as more companies have this opportunity.
This was because many of the larger clubs sponsored can raise large quantities of money from sponsors in various industries.
Revenue from different brands has been used to drive lower league teams' goals to enter the Premier League, given the pressure on them to do so and the pot of money available there.
Low tier leagues do not have so much money from television and matchday revenues as higher leagues, thus they must find money elsewhere to compete.
This results in sponsorship deals with the businesses that bring in the greatest money, which is almost often operator brands.
Even teams, like Burnley and Crystal Palace, are concerned about these issues.
The relationship between gambling and football
The presence of the businesses on the shirts of football's clubs in England's top two leagues for consecutive seasons has been criticised. It has a significant impact on football fans.There are indications that the activity is now becoming more normalised, especially among the younger, to the point that it is frequently considered an integral part of watching and backing one's favourite sport or team.
Simon Stevens, the executive director of NHS England, has recently chastised foreign companies that advertise the English teams for failing to take accountability for the health consequences of sponsorship. The number of gamblers is sponsored and increasing.
According to the Gambling Commission, there are 430,000 " addicts" in the United Kingdom, with another 2 million people in danger of developing a problem.
To address the issue, operator companies have agreed in December to a proposal that would prohibit such advertisements from airing during live sports broadcasts for any game show before 9 p.m.
The Advertising Standards Authority also prohibits teams from putting gambling firm sponsors on child's jerseys and from targeting the advertisements at those under the age of 18.
Despite these reforms, authorities and gambling companies are anticipating an increase in the number and value of agreements between teams and organisations.
Premier League football clubs with a betting sponsor
Bournemouth – M88
In 2017, Bournemouth, one of the UK's speediest companies, signed a two-year contract with Asian company M88. This firm falls under the top 10 online casino as it is one of the best known brands.Burnley – Laba360
In 2018, Burnley announced a world-record-breaking partnership with Laba360, a Chinese operator.The company's name essentially equates to "great luck" in Cantonese, and it is Burnley's biggest financial deal ever in FC firms that is sponsored ever.
Crystal Palace – ManBetX
The logo of the firm ManBetX, which is situated in Malta, appears on Crystal Palace's jerseys FC and is most prominent.Crystal Palace said in an announcement when the teams sponsored have gambling companies mentioned, "The agreement is considered to be the ninth-largest club deal by price, showing Crystal Palace FC rising global popularity."
Fulham – Dafabet
Fulham's main team sponsor is Dafabet, a multinational betting brand that signed a two-year partnership with the club in July 2018. Apart from signing teams, they also sponsor Australian mobile casinos, which are very popular.Huddersfield Town – OPE Sports
In 2017, OPE Sports, an internet company, was announced as the shirt sponsor of Huddersfield Town. They have also sponsored West Bromwich Albion.It was yet another club-record-breaking commercial arrangement in English championship teams, and it was used to increase the football club's worldwide audience.
Newcastle United – Fun88
Newcastle United signed an endorsement deal with Fun88 that was the largest in the club's most popular history.Fun88 is a Chinese sports betting sites have gambling brand with a UK subsidiary controlled by Isle of Man-based Welton Holdings Ltd.
Wolverhampton Wanderers – W88
Following Wolverhampton Wanderers' elevation to the championship last summer, Asian internet operator W88 collaborated with the team.In February 2018, more football teams recruited former England striker Emile Heskey as its marketing manager in the Philippines, where it is registered and regulated with a season sponsorship deal in online shops.
West Ham United – Betway
West Ham United had signed a club-record endorsement arrangement with Betway, an online corporation that previously sponsored Tottenham Hotspur, with offices in Malta and Guernsey, in 2015.The arrangement was expected to be worth more than £10m ($12.7m) per year at the time.
Conclusion
To wrap up, these are the most famous companies that have sponsored football clubs. More gambling companies have firmly established themselves in current football, generating thousands of pounds for the teams involved in the betting company.This cash is an important part of these clubs' total earnings since it allows them to recruit the elite players that the championship is renowned for today.
Despite that, it cannot be dismissed that the combination of betting with football is a contentious matter that will continue to be debated at all stages in the whole industry.
