Online gambling shirt sponsorships generate big money for UK football

Growing numbers of online gambling operators are embarking on shirt sponsorship deals with UK football clubs that involve significant sums of money, and the publication SportingIntelligence.com has been monitoring this niche market with interesting results.

Shirt sponsorships are one of three important sources of funds for clubs, alongside match day income (tickets, food & drink, hospitality, programmes, hoardings etc) and media income (mainly TV rights).

The publication claims that English Premier League clubs have set a record this year for combined shirt sponsorship deals, with the 20 clubs generating GBP 226.5 million for the 2016-17 season, a rise of GBP 3.6 million on 2015.

The latest figures show that such sponsorships have more than doubled over the past six years, with values rising from GBP 100.45 back then to today’s impressive numbers.

SportingIntelligence observes that the EPL sponsorships total is more than double the income generated by Bundesliga clubs in Germany, which is the next strongest nation in terms of shirt sponsorships with GBP 101 million in deals last season involving 18 football clubs.

The nearest rival to the top two sponsorship nations was Spain, where La Liga reported shirt sponsorships of around GBP 65 million.

The biggest such deal in the EPL is that between Manchester United and Chevrolet, which SportingIntelligence reports is worth GBP 47 million a year, but the publication lists other clubs that have done well out of this type of partnership, including Southampton and Virgin Media (GBP 6 million).

“The international appeal of the Premier League is demonstrated with 16 clubs sharing 14 sponsors with overseas headquarters based in countries as diverse as the USA, China, Japan, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Malta and Costa Rica. Mansion and Dafabet have two clubs each,” SportingIntelligence observes, noting that only Liverpool, Southampton, Stoke and Middlesbrough boast British-based sponsors.

And despite a blanket ban on gambling corruption within football, 10 Premier League teams will carry sponsorship from gambling companies this coming season, up from seven last term.

SportingIntelligence have published a seven-year history of shirt sponsorship deals, which can be accessed here: