Popular Sports Teams that Promote Casinos
The sports industry is one of the big billed sectors in the world, generating billions in revenue every year. This niche ranks as high as casinos in drawing popularity, which feature free slots no download and other games. Nearly every big sports team, especially those in football, have sponsors that are often emblazoned on their jerseys. Such sponsorship deals of football teams with casinos and betting companies prove to be a profitable business and rack up more than 300 million CAD every year.
Since the government or independent firms regulate most regions where such sponsorships take place, clever manoeuvres are used to promote both parties. Gambling operators often go beyond placing their logos on players’ shirts and sponsor special promotion codes. Here are the top teams that have big gambling sponsors standing behind them:
West Ham – Betway
West Ham United FC is among the longest-running football clubs in Europe having been established in 1895 as Thames Ironworks. The name West Ham was adopted in 1900, and they currently play at the London Stadium. The team has a handful of accolades to its name, including three FA Cup titles and a European Cup Winners’ title. In the past five years that the club has been active, West Ham has been sponsored by Betway.
Betway sits among the top-dogs of the global gambling industry with provisions in the casino, live casino, poker, and sports betting fields. Betway online casino, which is one of the most popular options from the company, offers a wide range of games that can be explored by players, including:
- Jungle Jim El Dorado
- Break da Bank Again
- Playboy Gold Jackpots
- Retro Reels: Extreme Heat
- Tiny Roulette
- Mega Moolah
- European Roulette
- Kings of Cash
West Ham and Betway are set to continue their partnership for another six years with the football team gaining ten million pounds annually. This is the most valuable deal aside from those of the six leading clubs in the Premier League.
Everton – SportPesa
Everton FC is a professional football club based in Liverpool FC and has been around for more than a century since 1878, making it the second oldest in English football. Everton joined hands with the Kenyan gambling firm SportPesa in 2017 for a lucrative five-year sponsorship. The company supports more than eighteen teams in its home country and more than 800 players. Everton is its first big venture in the European football industry, and it is in the form of a front of the shirt sponsorship deal. The SportPesa sponsorship is the biggest in Everton’s history and is said to be earning the club up to ten million pounds per year.
Crystal Palace – ManBetX
Crystal Palace Football Club hails from London and has risen the ranks to compete in the Premier League, which is the most prestigious competition in English football. The club has been operational since 1905 and has left its mark in major leagues like UEFA, Southern League, and Football League. Crystal Palace was the first football club to get the Maltese gambling company, ManBetX, noticed in the European market. The Vivaro Limited owned company became their front shirt sponsors and experienced a good market depth in their in-play betting services.
Wolverhampton Wanderers – ManBetX
Wolverhampton Wandered Football Club is widely known by its pseudo name Wolves, and even uses the image of the animal as its mascot. The club came to rise in 1877 and has been a competitor in the Premier League since 1889. They are also among the Football League’s founding members, which earns them a spot in top-flight football to date. ManBetX is also behind the sponsorship of this club that is meant to run for two years after Wolves ditched W88. The subsidy is said to be much more lucrative than that of W88, which makes them their main shirt sponsor.
Southampton – LD Sports
This English football club has been playing since 1885 but only adopted St Mary’s Stadium as its home ground in 2001. Southampton has worked with major sponsors in the past, and in the past few years, it has entered a deal with LD Sports. However, it has been a rocky relationship since the Chinese company has yet to launch or announce what products or services it provides. The only provided detail is that it plans to serve the gambling market. Recent suggestions indicate Southampton will ditch the sponsor for yet another gambling company, Sportsbet.io.
Burnley – LoveBet
Burnley is one of the leading names in English association football and runs from Burnley, Lancashire. The team, which has been around since 1882, landed LoveBet as a sponsor in 2019. The partnership is expected to span over three seasons and end in 2022. Until then, the gambling brand will appear on the players’ shirts with the logo placed on the sleeves and front. This appearance applies to both home and away shirts for adult players.
Newcastle United FC – Fun88
This English professional football club has been a member of the Premier League for the past three years since its establishment in 1892. This new-found status made it ripe for a sponsorship deal, and FUN88 announced a sponsorship deal in 2017. Fun88 is a successful betting company in Asia looking to penetrate the European market. With earnings of up to eight million pounds per year for Newcastle United, it joins the league of top ten sponsorship deals in English football.
Watford – Sportsbet.io
Watford Football Club has been running for close to a century and a half, and currently plays in the English professional football leagues like the Premier League. The club is one of the few that are pushing cryptocurrency gambling under the sportsbet.io banner, which is a multicurrency betting company. The team will wear the Bitcoin logo on their shirts, and their fans will be allowed to purchase official merch using the digital money.
Overview
The growing sponsorship of football clubs by gambling companies may be lucrative for both industries, but it is also the centre of controversy. Most people argue that this saturation will only lead to the rising numbers of gambling addicts around the world.
