It is not strange that we will see a lot of betting sponsorship logos on the Premier League’s shirts during the 2019-2020 season. Even if that raised a dose of disturbance among many, due to the controversial betting normalisation, it actually is something that should have been predicted. 

On the other hand, it didn’t seem to bother all the gambling enthusiasts out there. When it comes to gambling statistics it remains pretty much the same, and the bettors continued to bet on Premier League at the sportsbooks.  In fact, regardless of the shirt sponsorship controversy, the number of online sportsbooks with promos codes such as Mr Green bonus code didn’t change. 

Increase in Annual Earnings

Furthermore, this type of gambling sponsorship brought an incredible income to many Premier League Clubs. Some of them even broke the glass ceiling when it comes to biggest earnings. When speaking in percentage, this type of shirt betting sponsorship led to a 10% increase in annual earnings.

Betting Sponsorship in the Championship

When it comes to betting sponsorship in the Championship, we can expect to see seventeen club shirts with a gambling brand logo. Even with the attempts from various sources to stop this kind of betting promotion among the young fans, more and more football clubs embrace this kind of gambling sponsorship. 

The Actual Numbers

Even if the gambling brands are not the only sponsors on the shirts of football clubs, they are growing in number. And, it is nothing strange, since their sponsorships are the most lucrative ones. To be precise, we are talking about millions and millions of worth annual sponsorship contracts. 

To point out, the top six clubs who still avoid having a betting sponsor on their shorts are not the majority. Other 14 clubs successfully signed their shirt sponsorship deals. The whole gambling sponsorship controversy started a while ago. For now, TV adds are forbidden to be emitted during the games, with the “little kids may be watching” as the primary reason. However, that doesn’t seem to stop shirt sponsorship, even if the whole situation is pretty contradictory. 

Anti-Gambling Activism

One of the great anti-gambling activist and a former gambling addict, James Grimes, was the first to publicly point out this. He is the creator of The Big Step charity walk whose main goal is to raise money for Gambling With Lives, charity. In short, there are six teams that are arising money from betting sponsors. 

Interesting thing is that some of the most popular gambling brands Ladbrokes GVC and Paddy Power Betfair are officially anti-sponsorship shirt oriented. One thing is certain, everyone can see the increased in betting and gambling promotion on the field. The matches are filled with all sort of gambling advertising materials lately.

So, What’s Next?

To sum up, nobody knows if the gambling industry will start acting more responsibly or if the rules and laws related to gambling advertising will become more strict. Who knows if this situation will grow into something much bigger or if it will simply end with a football shirt sponsorship boycott. Only the time will tell.