The Pros and the Cons

As the online gambling business continues to gather momentum, an increasing number of industries are looking to form lucrative partnerships with the booming sector.

In football, gambling shirt sponsorships are big business. Particularly in the highest echelons of the game, such as in the Premier League, firms are willing to exchange enormous sums in order to secure deals and the coverage that comes with them.

In this article, we will take a look a the pros and cons of gambling shirt sponsorships in the Premier League. From the enormous amount of cash that clubs can earn from gambling shirt sponsors to concerns over the normalization of gambling amongst children, we will look at it all here.

Let’s start with a look at the pros of gambling shirt sponsorships in the Premier League.

Gambling Shirt Sponsorships in the Premier League: The Pros

When it comes to understanding the pros of gambling shirt sponsorships in the Premier League, the main thing to understand is that clubs can earn tens or even hundreds of millions of pounds from betting shirt sponsorship deals.

In recent years, the amount that Premier League clubs have earned from gambling sponsorships has risen exponentially. Most recent figures suggest an annual income of over £350 million spread across the teams who have gambling shirt sponsorship deals in place.

In the 2019/20 season, ten of the twenty Premier League clubs had gambling shirt sponsors. The majority of these are mid-level Premier League clubs who benefit greatly from the cash injection provided by gambling shirt sponsors. The most lucrative gambling shirt sponsorship deal in the UK is West Ham United’s deal with Malaysian betting firm Betway, worth £10 million per year.

The second most valuable gambling shirt sponsorship in the Premier League is Everton’s £9.6 million deal with Kenyan betting company SportPesa. Third is Wolves’ partnership with ManBetX from Malta, which earns the Midlands club £8 million annually.

Clearly, gambling can be very appealing to EPL clubs. Online gambling is largely responsible for this rise in the profile of the practice, with sites such as playuk.com providing players in the UK with a safe, diverse and simple place to play.

Now that we have seen the huge financial gain that can come from gambling shirt sponsorships, let’s look closer at some of the perceived cons.

Gambling Shirt Sponsorships in the Premier League: The Cons

When it comes to understanding the cons of gambling shirt sponsorships in the Premier League, the primary issues are political, social and ethical.

Essentially, there have been concerns raised in some quarters that the rising prevalence of gambling shirt sponsorships in the Premier League normalizes gambling to a younger audience. The fact that football and particularly the Premier League appeals to millions of young people the world over means that gambling firms are becoming extremely prominent among this demographic.

With that said, gambling remains off-limits to young people below a certain age across the world. In addition, the practice can be extremely enriching when enjoyed sensibly.

Overall, the pros of gambling shirt sponsorships in the Premier League certainly appear to outweigh the cons. With so much money to be earned by clubs, it seems that things can only get better!