40% of Premier League teams influenced by betting brands in front-of-shirt market despite growing calls around banning such deals, says GlobalData

Recently, there has been a growing discussion and movement to limit the influence of gambling brands as the main sponsorship inventories for teams across the Premier League, finds GlobalData. The leading data and analytics company found that 40%* of the 20 competing teams will don a betting brand logo on the front of their playing shirts this season.

Jake Kemp, Sport Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “At a time when so many clubs have been impacted financially by COVID-19, a ban such as this could represent another huge loss for these teams. The larger rights values attributed to betting brands are as a result of the difficulty these brands face in advertising themselves around the world, particularly in Asia, where there are restrictive laws in place. The global broadcasting and popularity of the Premier League therefore offers these brands a route to sell themselves in their home market legally.”

According to GlobalData’s recent report, ‘Business of the Premier League 2022-23’, the main issue around the Premier League banning betting brand sponsorships is the financial opportunities they offer to the teams. Gambling brands typically offer much larger sums than other sectors for the same level of partnership with a club, so a ban would likely see many of the eight teams who wear a betting brand logo forced into accepting smaller annual fees for the same sponsorship rights.

Kemp continues: “One reason for the need to move away from the sponsorship of betting brands surrounds the potential negative ramifications of building brand awareness for younger generations. Impressionable children are seeing their favorite athletes glamorise a taboo industry in which addiction and financial/health struggles are a serious problem.”

This season, the industry accounts for an influx of $69.04 million in front-of-shirt rights fees, making it the third-highest spending in the league. As less popular teams are not presented with the same level of commercial interest as the ‘big six’ clubs, they struggle to resist the lucrative sums offered by betting brands.

The betting sector’s visible influence on Premier League shirts this season also extends to the sleeve market, where Aston Villa and Wolves each boast a betting brand partnership. These two deals will contribute a further combined $3 million in commercial income this season.