The Ethics of Football Clubs Partnering with Betting Brands

Betting brands have a huge economical impact on football clubs and it all started back in the 1960s with so many game broadcasts on TV surging the popularity of football to its all time high. Now you can see betting brands being featured on jerseys not only in Europe but also in Asia and Africa when football viewership is exploding due to availability of the content on smartphones and cheap tablets. Betting companies work there as regional partners allowing local and international football clubs to have better spending power and increase the fan engagement during low season.

Many say that football and sports betting fit perfectly because they share the same audience. Both industries target the same demographics: male aged 18-45 who are somewhat tech-savvy and cannot leave without watching sports. Football fans are usually very connected to their favorite teams. Most fans start building bonds with teams and players from their childhood. That is why when fans see a betting brand featured on shirts and stadiums, they start to trust them. And the very first moment they would want to predict the score and place a bet – they know where to go and what brand to search for on the Internet.

But this requires a clever marketing strategy from the sports betting brands, especially when they want to operate on different markets. For example, an international brand who runs a specific promotion in Spain will have to adapt and localize the marketing campaign for Nigeria and Vietnam even if they target the same demographics. This is exactly what 777 fun is doing in Brazil and other parts of the world because market specifics dictate how your brand ads should look and marketing messages should sound.

The Controversies

Despite football clubs and sport betting brands making profits out of these collaborations, not everybody is happy with betting brands sitting right next to the football fans, especially younger audiences. It drives so much criticism not only from the governments, but from families who are afraid that betting culture can normalize gambling for youth. Some studies even show that children often recognize betting brands before they can name some club players. This is definitely a very disturbing trend, isn’t it? That is why many experts say that football clubs should cut their ties with betting and gambling brands.

The Premier League made a first step back in 2023 when they banned gambling companies from being featured on front of shirts. This limitation will take place from the 2026-27 season, but this makes a difference even in 2025 because less betting brands are exposed to children and young adults who are not yet familiar with drawbacks of betting. Spain and Italy want their clubs to find different sponsors other than iGaming and betting companies because from their perspective this harms the reputation of football. Other European countries make smaller steps but this all reflects the growing trend when society wants football to stop exposuring betting so much.

Is Responsible Gambling an Answer?

Many sports betting brands are aware of this trend. They are not happy of being kicked off from major sports competitions and having sponsorship deals cancelled. That’s why they try to change their marketing message from something like “Bet on your favorite teams” to “Responsible betting is okay”. Now you can see plenty of campaigns like “When The Fun Stops, Stop” and “Play Responsibly” watching you from banners on stadiums and broadcasts. But is it exactly helping to reduce the exposure of sports betting or just a clever trick from betting brands to stay visible even and outsmart restrictions and limitations?

There is no clear answer to that but launching initiatives to spread awareness and responsible gaming principles is way better than doing nothing and just selling every inch of ad space to sports betting brands hoping that they will “do something themselves”.

Everything needs to be balanced, sports betting ads are not an exception. A company banned in one jurisdiction may still promote itself internationally through offshore licenses and online campaigns. If federations can’t limit sponsorship deals and make only symbolic moves because of the flow of money betting brands throw to keep things running, governments should take the measures. Yes, there’s not much governments can do to affect the international landscape but adjusting rules inside your jurisdiction is the key. Crypto-based betting platforms are another big pain here because it’s hard to track transactions and limit citizens from accessing offshore sites: any cheap VPN and BTC wallet let anyone, even the most restricted jurisdiction, gamble with ease.

What Is The Future for Collaboration Between Sports and Betting Brands

When there are huge budgets for sponsorship deals, there always will be clubs who would want this money to fund their youth academies or pay for transfers. One thing we are certain of is that betting brands will do their best to outsmart the restriction and will be introducing new creative ways to interact with the audience without triggering any response from governmental bodies.

The relationship between football and sports betting is complex but inseparable. We will definitely see more branded prediction games and streamers sponsored by big iGaming and betting brands in the future. The next 10 years will likely be more sophisticated in terms of advertising approaches and staying on top of all sports events good for placing bets on. If you will look at Polymarket and how they try to turn literally everything into a bettable case, you will see where the industry goes and how it interacts with the general audience.

Another bad thing is the rising cost of staying afloat for football clubs. Even regular transfers now cost millions and without sponsorship money some clubs won’t be able to make the ends meet.