Despite Bans, Two Thirds of Football Clubs in UK’s and Europe’s Top Leagues Collaborate with Bookies

Despite growing pressure from authorities and society, two-thirds of men’s football clubs in the elite leagues in the UK and the European Union (EU) have sponsorship agreements with betting companies, according to a recent analysis by Investigate Europe.

Photo: Betting companies’ logos on Premier League clubs’ jerseys (screenshot: youtube.com/@FourFourTwo)

This season, nearly 300 elite football clubs have agreements with bookmakers, demonstrating the game’s monetary reliance on the industry. Campaigners claim that agreements run the risk of pushing more people into addiction; thus, several teams get around prohibitions by working with “gateway” sponsors.

According to Investigate Europe, a non-profit group of investigative journalists that use methods including data journalism, open source reporting, and freedom of information requests to focus on in-depth European topics, the majority of top-flight men’s teams now collaborate with betting businesses, demonstrating how gambling has permeated every aspect of European football. An investigation reveals that teams and league organizers are still dependent on industry funding, even in the face of growing concerns about problem gambling and regulatory efforts to restrict advertising.

Key Findings from Study

These are, in our opinion, key findings from the study:

• 105 operators, including Unibet, Betano, Bwin, and Betway, some of the most profitable bookies online, sponsor clubs directly.
• 296 out of 442 clubs partner with at least one betting brand.
• 14 out of 31 leagues have a betting operator as their title partner.
• Every third club places a gambling brand logo on its kit.
• 11 English Premier League clubs have betting sponsor logos on their shirts; the total value of contracts is estimated at $135 million.
• AC Milan (Italy) and Nõmme Kalju FC (Estonia) cooperate with operators that lack local licenses.
• In countries with advertising restrictions, such as Italy and Belgium, sub-brand schemes are used. For example, Unibet and Betsson sponsorships are under alternative names. They are advertising by using brands’ news/entertainment, or charitable logos on their kits.

To circumvent restrictions, clubs and bookmakers use white-label schemes and affiliate disguises, effectively ignoring gambling advertising bans. The study also highlights that financial pressure forces clubs to ignore sponsor licensing, and there’s virtually no verification of the origin of the money.