When Uruguayan club Peñarol in the 1950s became the first club to put the name of a sponsor on their shirts, its players and officials would have had trouble imagining just how widespread the practice would become. In fact, the first club to do it in the UK, Kettering Town, faced fierce opposition when they agreed to put the name of their sponsor Kettering Tyres on their shirts in exchange for £4,000. The deal was struck down within days by the Football Association (FA), claiming a breach of regulations. Even changing the sign to just Kettering T didn’t help the matter.
Since then, sponsorship deals have been a staple of football and a huge part of a club’s identity. Pirelli and Inter Milan. Sharp and Manchester United. Think of almost any iconic kit from the 1980s or 90s and a mainstream consumer brand comes to mind. Even today the situation is similar, but one thing has changed, and that is the type of sponsors. These days, betting companies and crypto platforms have become some of the most prominent names in European football sponsorship.
A New Era of Commercial Partners
The numbers tell the story clearly. Inter Milan’s move from Paramount+ to Swedish betting giant Betsson as their main shirt sponsor sent revenues skyrocketing — from €11 million to €30 million per season on a four-year deal. That’s nearly three times the previous value, underscoring just how aggressive gambling brands have become in pursuing high-visibility football partnerships.
Inter aren’t alone. Across Europe, betting and gaming companies have flooded the sponsorship market. In the Premier League, clubs from Everton to Brentford have carried gambling logos on their shirts in recent seasons. In La Liga, crypto exchange platforms have become sleeve partners for top clubs. The pattern is easy to see, as football fans and their demographic overlap significantly with the core customers of both gambling and crypto platforms. Add the facts that these industries have the capital, the appetite for sports audiences, and a clear commercial logic, and the result becomes unavoidable.
Serie A’s Complicated History with Betting Brands
Italy has had a uniquely complex relationship with gambling sponsorships. For years, Italian law prohibited betting companies from advertising on football shirts. This restriction, designed to curb problem gambling, cost clubs tens of millions in lost revenue. The Italian government, finally recognizing the financial toll the regulation was taking on Serie A clubs already struggling to compete with the Premier League’s broadcasting wealth, began edging toward lifting that ban back in 2022.
When the ban was eventually lifted, the floodgates opened. Betsson’s landmark deal with Inter was one of the most visible results, but it was just the tip of the iceberg. With TV rights revenues still lagging far behind England and Spain, commercial partnerships, especially lucrative ones with gaming brands, are becoming essential for clubs’ survival.
The Global Picture Changes As Crypto Casinos Enter the Game
But traditional sports betting operators aren’t the only ones in the iGaming industry offering sponsorship deals to sports organizations. Crypto casinos and online gaming platforms like Stake Casino have built a significant presence in elite sport sponsorship, partnering with clubs and athletes globally to reach a young, digitally-native audience. Educational platforms like CryptoManiaks have played a huge role in helping people understand more about the crypto world.
The allure of these deals is obvious for clubs, as it provides them with massive financial injections and at the same time offers a new way to engage with their fans.
Conclusion
The massive increase in betting and gambling sponsorship deals is not without controversy. Health advocates and regulators in several countries push back hard against them, claiming that they are normalizing gambling through football. The debate has been especially heated in the UK, with ongoing discussions about restricting front-of-shirt betting sponsorships in the Premier League. While the commercial upside for the clubs is undeniable, the risks that come with these deals are legitimate and well worthy of consideration.
However, the presence of betting and gambling platforms has reached such a massive scale that some claim there is no going back. For clubs like Inter, operating in a league that still battles to close the financial gap with Europe’s wealthiest competitions, these partnerships are not just attractive, they are increasingly necessary. As long as the regulatory environment allows it, football and the gambling industry will remain joined at the hip, since both sides benefit greatly from it. At this point, it is hard to imagine that it would suffer the same fate as Kettering Tyres deal.
