Home of football statistics and historyFootball is the most popular sport in the world, with an estimated five billion fans worldwide. And with such widespread support, one highly lucrative way that clubs generate revenue is through sponsorship deals.
Casinos, and more recently online casinos, have experienced exponential success in recent years. Providers like live casino offer their customers a polished gaming experience including poker, slots and live casino options.
Historically, many football clubs’ sponsorship deals have included casino and gaming companies like Virgin Games. In recent years, however, these sponsorships have come under scrutiny, and with the introduction of new rules across many football associations, the future of these collaborations could be in doubt.
The history of football club casino sponsorship
The relationship between gaming and football goes back several decades, with wagering on the outcome of matches being a significant part of football culture in many countries. However, the practice of casino companies sponsoring football clubs is a more recent development.
In the early 2000s, some European football clubs started to sign lucrative sponsorship deals with casino companies. Among these clubs were Manchester United, Real Madrid, Bayern München as well as many top flight sides in the Italian and Danish leagues.
These deals not only help the clubs financially but also increase the visibility of the casino brands, particularly in countries where football enjoys widespread support. Despite the financial benefits of these partnerships, they have also attracted criticism from some quarters.
Critics argue that these deals normalise gaming, especially for younger fans and vulnerable individuals, which can lead to negative social consequences. With greater levels of scrutiny both within the gaming industry and the brands that powerful clubs associate with, we’ve seen the introduction of new rules to monitor these relationships.
New rules for football club sponsorship
In the UK, the commission which regulates gaming activities, introduced new rules regarding shirt sponsorship which came into play from the 2020/21 season. Casino and other gaming companies cannot sponsor football shirts for teams in the Premier League, the Championship and lower tiers of English football – and this ban extends to replica shirts sold to fans as well.
Similarly, the Spanish football league, La Liga, introduced new rules in the same season, which prohibit clubs from having those companies as their primary shirt sponsors. Instead, they can only appear on the sleeves of the shirt.
In Italy, a decree introduced in 2018 banned all forms of advertising for gaming companies including sponsorships on football shirts. The ban came into effect in 2019 and football clubs were required to update all their shirts where applicable.
Due to external pressure, some football clubs have opted to terminate their partnerships with casino companies voluntarily. However, many clubs still rely on these sponsorships for revenue, and some argue that they are essential for their survival, especially smaller clubs that cannot readily replace these deals.
It’s worth noting that these regulations only apply to specific countries and leagues and the rules vary widely between regions. In other parts of the world, such as Asia and Africa, gaming sponsorships on football shirts are still widespread and common.
Football sponsorship and Chinese gaming companies
Prior to the recent regulations coming into force, many Chinese gaming companies capitalised on the popularity of European football to advertise their products. By way of shirt sponsors, these companies could make use of the fact that first division football games are often broadcast to hundreds of different countries, including China itself.
Chinese rules surrounding gaming advertising and casinos are particularly stringent and these football sponsorships were a way to find a loophole in the legislation. In fact, it was thought that the gaming companies had little interest in the domestic markets of the teams they were associated with and the principal benefit to them was being able to promote their product back home in Asia.
The future of casino companies sponsoring football clubs
The future of casino companies sponsoring football clubs is currently uncertain with many factors influencing the outcome. On the one hand, casino companies have traditionally been significant sponsors of football clubs, and these partnerships have been beneficial for both parties.
On the other hand, it seems unlikely there will be a backtrack in the recent moves to limit casino sponsorship that we’ve witnessed in the last few years, which makes it harder for these relationships to continue. Some clubs may also be wary of entering into sponsorship deals with casino companies for fear of public backlash.
It’s worth noting that many clubs, especially smaller ones have faced financial hardship over the past few years and as a result may be more willing to enter into deals with casino companies to generate much-needed revenue. Whether or not casino companies will continue sponsoring football clubs remain to be seen. Recent regulations aim to promote responsible gaming practices and in a world of continual technological advances a method may be developed for these companies to market their products more directly to an appropriate audience.
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