Over the past few years, betting has become even more intrinsically linked with sport than ever before.
In the UK the number of gambling sponsorships is particularly large. Look at a full list of online bookmakers in the UK and you’ll find almost all of them have some form of association with a football club.
In the Premier League alone, 50% have a betting brand on their shirt either as a main sponsor or sleeve sponsor and it’s now an industry worth hundreds of millions to clubs.
However, there are some humongous deals all over the world, but what are some of the biggest?
Spor Toto & Turkey’s SuperLig
Back in 2010, Turkey’s top three leagues struck a deal with the state run betting operator Spor Toto in a deal that was said to be worth $25million per year.
Across five years the divisions earned $125million and it helped set a worldwide precedent for gambling companies not only sponsoring teams, but leagues too.
The legalisation of online gambling some US states has also seen sports leagues now strike deals with brands. The NBA were the first, announcing MGM as an official betting partner worth $25million over three years, while the NHL quickly followed suits with the same brand.
Across many sports betting companies are the main sponsors of leagues, with Sky Bet the official sponsor of the English Football League, while Ladbrokes recently signed a deal to become sponsors of a non-league division alongside their deal with the Scottish Premiership.
West Ham & Betway
West Ham have perhaps been the most prominent gambling sponsor in the Premier League in recent years and it’s a deal which is believed to be worth over $60million, the highest deal outside of the top six Premier League sides, none of which are sponsored by gambling companies.
It’s been a huge deal and paved the way for many more gambling firms to follow, with Betway recently renewing the deal to extend to 2024. They first joined forces back in 2015 and its one that has proved incredibly fruitful for both club and sponsor.
The deal was closely followed by Everton, who were earning £9.8million per year from Sportpesa, although that deal ended at the end of last season claiming the brand didn’t fit in with the club’s commercial strategy.
Betway & the Cheltenham Festival
Betway have also been one of the major sponsors in horse racing too. In fact, they have 23 active deals with sports clubs and events across a range of sports.
They are the current sponsors of the Queen Mother Champion Chase, which is the biggest sponsorship deal in horse racing among gambling sponsors, with the Cheltenham Gold Cup sponsored by Magners and the Grand National being sponsored by Randox Health.
The brand first struck a deal with Betway back in 2015, and was renewed in 2017 for another three years. The race itself has a history of gambling sponsors with BetVictor and Sportingbet having also been sponsors of the race over the last few years.
It’s no real surprise given gambling’s close association with horse racing, and sponsorships are only going to get bigger and bigger as brands fight for space on the track.
Every horse race can be live streamed via bookmakers these days, while even live coverage on the TV makes odds and betting a predominant focus.
It’s believed that around 14% of all gambling sponsorship deals in sport come from horse racing, although the likes of US sports are now starting to rise which may mean the likes of basketball and NFL may bring that figure down.