Football clubs earn a lot of money through a variety of commercial partnerships and sponsorship deals. As well as front-of-shirt sponsors, sleeve sponsors and even training kit sponsors, various types of official tie-in partnership deals bring in precious funds. Among the more prominent leagues in England, and the rest of the world, there are numerous examples of betting companies having some form of commercial relationship with football clubs.
The reason for this is partly because there is so much choice. Indeed, when it comes to gambling sponsors, teams have hundreds of brands to choose from, some of which are household names, others less well-known. Betting brands are keen to pen deals with sports stars or teams to increase their exposure. They rarely sponsor teams from lower divisions as they don’t have enough visibility. Betting firms also tend to offer very favourable sponsorship deals to clubs, regularly pricing out rivals from other sectors. With increasing revenue usually a priority for football clubs, this often makes betting companies their preferred choice.
But which gambling sponsors will be in place for the 2024/25 season? Although we may see more deals penned in the summer, here is what we know so far regarding shirt sponsors within English football.
Gambling Sponsors in 2024-25
Stoke City – Bet365
It should come as little surprise that bet365 will continue to have a presence in English football through their continued sponsorship of Stoke City. The world’s biggest bookmaker has sponsored the Potters every year since 2012. It may seem an unusual pairing to some but the bet365 Group Limited own the club and have its headquarters in Stoke. Additionally, Stoke’s stadium will continue to go by the sponsored name of the bet365 Stadium.
Aston Villa – Betano
After one, slightly controversial year rocking BK8 as their front-of-shirt sponsor, Aston Villa have decided to swap to a much more reputable betting provider. This new deal has seen them reach terms with Kaizen Gaming who are the owners of flagship brand Betano. It is a two-year agreement, reportedly worth £40m, and one that further increases Betano’s visibility as they also agreed sponsorship deals for Euro 2024 and the 2024 Copa America.
West Ham – Betway
Global giants Betway have been West Ham’s primary sponsor since 2015 and they most recently signed a sizeable £60m extension in 2019 which is due to expire in 2025. So, this may be the last season seeing Betway on the front of the Hammers’ shirt. The pair may choose to continue one final year but the front-of-shirt gambling sponsor ban comes into effect in 2026/27.
QPR – CopyBet
The CopyBet name featured on the back of the QPR shirt in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons but it will be taking a more prominent position for the next two years. Penning a new (bigger) deal, the unique sports betting site will now feature front and centre on the QPR matchday shirts. Fans got a glimpse of this new look kit when Rangers beat Leeds 4-0 on what was their final home match of the previous campaign.
Wolves – DEBET
Never heard of DEBET? Well neither had we until Wolves confirmed the Vietnamese company as their main sponsor on a two-year deal. It was what the club announced as the biggest partnership deal in their history. The brand has been around since 2019 but remains an unknown quantity in Europe because they have been focusing their efforts in South East Asia. In this region, they are one of the fastest-growing brands.
Crystal Palace – Net88
This summer Crystal Palace announced a club record-breaking deal which saw Net88 become their front-of-shirt sponsor. The announcement followed quite a considerable backlash though, in part because virtually nothing was known about the Vietnamese operator. Not only did they not have a functional UK-facing website but their UK language X account had a mere 28 followers. Despite this, the sponsorship deal will continue as it is such a lucrative one for the London club.
Expiring Shirt Deals
Many partnerships ended during the summer of 2024 and some of these will likely not be renewed. Such partnerships include Hollywoodbets and Brentford, Dafabet and Bournemouth, SBOTOP and Fulham, plus Sportsbet.io and Southampton. Clubs are free to renew any front-of-shirt sponsorship deals with gambling firms for the next two seasons but by 2026/27 the ban will be implemented.
Betting Sponsors From Outside England
Italy and Spain have already implemented bans on betting sponsors so you will find no front-of-shirt gambling logos when tuning into Serie A or La Liga. You can find examples from other nations though such as Germany where Stuttgart are currently mid-way through a deal with betting firm Winamax. The French company have also sponsored a variety of French teams including Le Havre, Strasbourg and ES Troyes AC so expect to see them in some capacity during 2024/25.
Some countries embrace betting sponsors much more than others though. Along with England, Portugal is one nation which sees a prominent betting presence among teams playing in its top division. Placard sponsor several teams in the Primeira Liga while Betano are midway through a deal with Porto and may continue with Sporting Lison should the Leões trigger the renewal option.