Gambling front of shirt sponsorships rise ahead of potential ban

With reports that Premier League football clubs will vote on voluntarily banning betting firms from team’s front of shirts, new research reveals that gambling sponsorships are on the rise following a huge fall last year.

Gambling saw the joint third-highest rise in the number of front of shirt (FoS) sponsors in the last year across the 226 professional football, cricket and rugby teams in England. It now accounts for 9.2% of sponsors, jumping back into second place behind automotive (10.5%) and ahead of retail (8.8%).

“It’s a notable return to favour for gambling after its share of sponsorships nearly halved from 2019 to 2021. However, this year, deals in rugby and cricket have resulted in a mini come back which will surprise many as publicity on gambling sponsorship centres on football,” said Alex Burmaster, head of research and analysis at sponsorship intelligence firm caytoo which conducted the annual study. “So, the big questions are: will the Premier League voluntary ban happen and, if so, will other divisions or sports such as rugby and cricket follow suit?” 

The manufacturing/engineering sectors have seen the biggest increase in FoS sponsorships from 4.9% to 7.5%. These are now the fourth most prevalent sponsors, overtaking stalwart sectors such as IT, construction and travel & tourism. Retail (7.1% to 8.8%) is the next fastest-growing sector.

In contrast, financial services – last year’s second most dominant sector - has seen the biggest drop (down from 8.4% to 6.1%) and is now ranked fifth. The next biggest faller is alcohol, down from 3.1% to 1.3% - just one quarter of the share it held three years ago.

“The covid pandemic meant digitally-led firms dominated last year’s fastest-growers but this year, with the exception of online car retail, has seen more traditional sectors leading the charge,” said Burmaster.

In terms of individual sports, gambling is football’s most prevalent FoS sponsor (15.4% share), while cricket’s is automotive (17.7%) and rugby’s is manufacturing/engineering and retail (both 13.3%). 

For further information, visit https://caytoo.co.uk