The Connection Between Casinos and Sports

The Premier League

Online casinos have become one of the foremost sponsors for the Premier League in recent years. With 50% of the teams in the division advertising online casinos on the front of their shirts, there has been a big spike in the number of clubs showing some type of affiliation with companies from the iGaming industry. What is the reason behind this big change?

One thing that’s instantly noticeable: the teams’ kits tend to feature specific casinos, rather than a particular game, such as online Blackjack, offered by the casinos. This means that the casinos want their brand name to gain increased visibility and recognition, rather than just some of the niche services they offer. And there’s a reason that gambling firms have targeted soccer in recent times, too.

Worldwide Audience

The trend doesn’t apply to the Premier League only. The Championship in England also has a high percentage of teams with gambling sponsors — at present, almost 75% of teams have a sponsor involved in the world of gambling. So, why have gambling firms targeted English soccer teams? The simple reason is because of the sport’s immense global popularity.

The Premier League is watched all over the world, with every match available live via broadcasting and public screenings. The Championship has also recently launched its iFollow service, which allows customers outside of the UK to watch all the games live in exchange for a small fee. It ensures that there are a lot of eyes on every game in the top two divisions.

With English soccer now becoming a worldwide sport, it has become enticing for casinos to advertise with them. Despite the value of sponsorships slowly rising over time, advertising on an English team still provides excellent value for online casinos. The immense number of people who see these advertisements means the potential revenue far outweighs the cost of the sponsorship.

Other Sports Following Suit

It’s not just soccer that has been moving forward into this realm of sponsorship, either: cricket has seen an influx of gambling-related sponsorships, too. Worcester Cricket Club recently made a gambling firm their principal partner, which saw a number of events feature gambling-related sponsors.

This comes after targeted adverts were banned for the duration of sporting events in the UK, but allowing sponsors to still be referenced on players’ shirts is a strategic way around this issue.

While there may be regulations brought in to combat it in the future, at this moment in time, gambling sponsors are dominating the market — and this doesn’t look set to change for quite a while.