Despite the obvious contradiction in the FA rules which state that footballers are unable to bet on games, betting companies remain the number one sponsor of football with nearly 60% of clubs in England’s top two divisions featuring a betting company on their kit. All kinds of betting services, from Football Accumulators to live vegas odds, have now become synonymous with the beautiful game and we’ll look at the latest clubs which have chosen to use a betting firm as their main sponsor.
Wolves – ManBetXPreviously sponsored by W88, another betting company, this season Wolves will feature ManBetX on their shirt for their main sponsor, having been made a better offer by the Asian Betting company who have reportedly given Wolves their largest ever sponsorship deal.
Burnley – LoveBet
Having been sponsored by LaBa360, an online betting and casino company, in previous seasons Burnley have now signed a three year partnership with LoveBet who specialise in online gambling in Asian markets and are also the official Asian betting partner of Paris St Germain.
Norwich – Dafabet
Back again in the Premier League, Norwich have just signed a record deal with Dafabet, yet another Asian betting company, who will not only feature on their shirts but will also have prominent branding on display throughout their ground at Carrow Road.
Birmingham City – Boyle Sports
Championship Club Birmingham City will feature Irish bookmaker on their shirts for the upcoming season in what is said to be their largest sponsorship deal in 10 years. The Irish betting firm have recently made a move to establish a presence in the UK by buying Midlands based book maker Wilf Gilbert and this is no doubt a move to help acquire more business in the city of Birmingham.
Huddersfield – Paddy Power
After having recently been relegated to the championship following their dismal 2018/19 season, Huddersfield fans certainly didn’t have a lot to be happy about. Initial reports of a new shirt sponsor may have been considered good news but when fans of the club saw their new shirt design they had every reason to be furious as the giant logo of Ireland based bookmaker Paddy Power stretched right across the entire front of the shirt, dwarfing the badge of the club and making the players look like they were wearing a sash and competing in a beauty pageant. Fans were quick to voice their complaints about the distasteful kit online and it raised interesting discussions about the balance between a club needing money to compete at the top level and the perils of selling the soul of your club to companies.