The Ultimate Guide To EPL Football Sponsorships by Gambling Companies

• Commencement date: Summer 2015
• Nature of sponsorship: Official betting partner for UK, Europe, South and Central America
• Term: To 2019
• Value: Undisclosed

Arsenal's move to the Emirates Stadium a few years ago opened up a raft of extra sponsorship opportunities and one of the biggest companies they now partner with is a betting firm - Betfair.

The partnership between Arsenal and Betfair begun in 2015 and was extended for a further three years after a single season, with Betfair receiving branding inside the stadium for all home games.

As part of the contract, Betfair also gets access to some of Arsenal's star players to help the company to deliver its promotion messages.

While the specific financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed to the public, the partnership between Arsenal and Betfair is likely to be one of the biggest in the Premier League.

• Commencement date: June 2015
• Nature of sponsorship: Official shirt sponsor
• Term: Two years
• Value: Undisclosed, but reportedly £1.3 million for each season

Since their promotion to the Premier League in 2015, Bournemouth have worn home and away shirts featuring the logo of Mansion Group, which previously sponsored Tottenham Hotspur.

Mansion is one of the best known betting companies in the Premier League as the firm has sponsored a number of different clubs, while the deal with Bournemouth was extended to include off-the-field matters on top of the shirt sponsorship.

As part of the agreement - which was signed in 2015 and extended for a further year after Bournemouth survived in the Premier League - it was arranged that the club and Mansion would team up for "mutually beneficial marketing activities".

Gibraltar-based Mansion also became Manchester City's international betting partner in 2011.

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• Commencement date: June 2016
• Nature of sponsorship: Official shirt sponsor
• Term: Two years
• Value: Reported to be around £2 million a year

Burnley agreed a two-year deal with Filipino betting group Dafabet in June 2016, with the club announcing that it received a record sponsorship fee for the club.

Dafabet's name and logo name will feature on all Burnley's adult home and away shirts for the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons, while the company is described as a "principal partner" of the club.

Ironically, in April 2017, Burnley player Joey Barton was given an 18-month ban for betting on football matches, with the midfielder noting the contrast between his own suspension and the football industry's increasingly close ties to the gambling industry.

Indeed, even the Football Association has an official betting partner now, the body having teamed up with Ladbrokes to sign a long-term deal in August 2016.

• Commencement date: August 2016
• Nature of sponsorship: Official betting partner
• Term: Three years
• Value: Undisclosed

Premier League 2016-17 champions Chelsea agreed a three-year deal for William Hill to become the club's official betting partner in August 2016, with the fee undisclosed but expected to be one of the biggest of its type in the country.

William Hill has ramped up its football sponsorships in the last couple of years, concluding similar deals with Everton and Tottenham Hotspur around the time it announced its Chelsea partnership.

Chelsea previously teamed up with BetVictor and Coral as the club's official betting partner, indicating Premier League teams are happy to switch between betting firms for a bigger deal.

• Commencement date: July 2015
• Nature of sponsorship: Official main sponsor
• Term: Two years
• Value: Undisclosed but reported to be in the region of £5 million a year

The second club to be partnered by Mansion in our ultimate guide to EPL football sponsorships by gambling companies is Crystal Palace, with their deal announced back in July 2015.

Mansion became Palace's main sponsor, with the firm's logo appearing on home and away shirts for the last two Premier League seasons.

Confirming the deal, Palace said the club would work with Mansion on various commercial activities as part of their sponsorship agreement. Star player Yohan Cabaye was used to model the new Palace kit featuring the Mansion logo.

• Commencement date: May 2017
• Nature of sponsorship: Main club sponsor
• Term: Five years
• Value: Reported to be in the region of £10 million a year

The dominance of betting firms in Premier League sponsorship deals was demonstrated in May 2017 when Everton confirmed a massive new deal with Kenyan company SportPesa.

Described as the most lucrative sponsorship agreement in the club's history, SportPesa's name will be on Everton's home and away shirts for the next five Premier League seasons.

SportPesa is investing heavily in the UK, with the company having recently opened a new European HQ on Liverpool's waterfront, creating more than 70 jobs in the process.

"The Liverpool office will give SportPesa the chance to engage with supporters through a number of fan activities and we look forward to an exciting partnership together," commented a delighted Robert Elstone, chief executive officer at Everton, when he announced the signing of the deal.

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• Commencement date: July 2016
• Nature of sponsorship: Main club sponsor
• Term: Three years
• Value: Reported to be around £3 million per year

Hull City described their partnership with Kenyan betting company SportPesa as the biggest sponsorship deal in the history of the club when a three-year contract was signed in July 2016.

As part of the move, the SportPesa All Stars travelled to Humberside to take on a Hull City XI at the KCOM Stadium, with the Tigers running out 2-1 winners in front of around 5,000 fans.

The game even featured a cameo as a second-half substitute from Tigers legend Dean Windass, with a return fixture lined up to take place in Kenya before the next Premier League campaign.

Claiming to be Africa's number one sports betting platform, SportPesa looks set to become a firm fixture in Premier League sponsorship deals over the years to come.

The company - which is the title sponsor of the Kenya’s top-tier football competition - the SportPesa Premier League - is already Arsenal's official betting partner in Kenya. Similar contracts are likely to be confirmed soon.

• Commencement date: August 2016
• Nature of sponsorship: Official betting partner
• Term: One year
• Value: Undisclosed

Leicester City have a couple of partnerships with companies involved in the gambling industry, but their main deal was announced in August 2016 with in-play football specialists 12BET.

Winning the Premier League title in 2016 shot the Leicester City brand into the stratosphere and the club took full advantage by nailing down a number of fresh sponsorship contracts.

As well as the one-year contract penned with 12BET, Leicester agreed a similar pact with BetStars, which was named the club's new official European betting partner.

BetStars offered 5,000 on Leicester City winning the Premier League again - a number of lucky punters won big the previous year at the same odds - but sadly for the Foxes the bet did not land.

• Commencement date: July 2016
• Nature of sponsorship: Training kit partner and official global online betting partner
• Term: Three years
• Value: Undisclosed

While a lot of the sponsorship deals with betting firms in the Premier League are small and straightforward, the contract between BetVictor and Liverpool is a touch more complex.

As well as becoming the club's official global online betting partner for a three-year spell, BetVictor sponsors Liverpool's training kit. The value of the deal was not revealed but as BetVictor is described as one of the club's principal partners it is likely to be one of the biggest around.

BetVictor's branding is heavily featured at Anfield on the stadium's pitchside LEDs and digital advertising and the company - which operates in more than 160 countries - planned various unique offers and content for the club's supporters as part of the sponsorship agreement.

• Commencement date: October 2016
• Nature of sponsorship: Official betting partner
• Term: Ongoing
• Value: Undisclosed

Manchester City were among the first Premier League teams to recognise the potential value of partnering with betting companies, with Betsafe penning a deal with the club in October 2016.

As part of the contract, Betsafe provides first class match day hospitality at the Etihad Stadium, while the firm gets access to exclusive behind the scenes Manchester City footage.

On top of the Betsafe deal, City also picked up online sportsbook brand Tempobet to become an official betting partner in the Asia-Pacific region. That deal was agreed between the two parties in August 2016 and sees City target the growing Asian market, which is becoming increasingly important for Premier League clubs.

• Commencement date: August 2015
• Nature of sponsorship: Official global betting partner
• Term: Ongoing
• Value: Undisclosed

Manchester United's hoovering up of commercial deals has become a bit of an in-joke within the football industry. Arguably the biggest club in the world boasts deals such as an official global lubricant oil and fuel retail partner (Gulf Oil International) and Mlily, which is the official global mattress and pillow partner of Manchester United.

Marathonbet replaced bwin as United's official global betting partner in August 2015, although the deal was controversial as the betting firm had a similar agreement with fierce rivals Liverpool. As part of the deal, Marathonbet brings United fans bespoke player and legend interviews, as well as exclusive content and competitive odds for football matches.

• Commencement date: August 2016
• Nature of sponsorship: Official betting and gaming partner
• Term: Ongoing
• Value: Undisclosed

Middlesbrough signed up TLCBET as the club's new official betting and gaming partner in August 2016, with the contract with the China-based firm said to increase the club's profile in Asia.

Under the teams of the partnership, TLCBET received pitchside LED advertising at the Riverside Stadium, as well as prominent positions for its branding on the official club website.

Shortly after announcing the new agreement with TLCBET, Boro confirmed it had agreed to make Tempobet its official in-stadia betting partner, giving the firm a place on the club's training kit.

Unfortunately for TLCBET and Tempobet, Middlesbrough were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2016-17 season.

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• Commencement date: April 2017
• Nature of sponsorship: Official Asia betting partner and official global casino partner
• Term: Two years
• Value: Undisclosed

One of the most recent deals in our guide to EPL football sponsorships by gambling companies involves Southampton, who announced TLCBET would become the club's official Asia betting partner and official global casino partner until the end of the 2018-19 season in April 2017.

TLCBET is a relatively new name in the betting industry - the business was only founded in 2010 - but has already been able to conclude deals with two Premier League clubs, with more potentially set to be announced in the coming weeks and months.

"The Saints have a massive fanbase in Asia and we are excited to be working with them," said brand director for TLCBET Mike Chong when the contract with Southampton was announced.

• Commencement date: April 2016
• Nature of sponsorship: Main club sponsor has stadium naming rights and shirt sponsorship
• Term: Six years, with the potential to extend further in the future
• Value: Around £3 million per year, according to reports

Perhaps the most wide-ranging gambling company sponsorship deal in the Premier League can be found at Stoke City, which is owned by Peter Coates, the millionaire shareholder of Bet365.

The company already sponsored the club's shirts prior to an announcement in April 2016 that it would take over the sponsorship of the Stoke City stadium for at least six years.

Bet365 claims to be the world's largest online gambling company and, as part of the deal, Stoke City confirmed the club would raise stadium seat capacity by 1,800 seats in time for the start of the 2017/18 season by filling in the corners between the DPD and Marston's Pedigree Stands.

• Commencement date: June 2015
• Nature of sponsorship: The club's principal partner
• Term: Until the end of the 2018-19 season
• Value: Reported in the media to be around the £5 million per year mark

As well as sponsoring the shirts of Burnley, Dafabet also has a deal with Sunderland that was initially agreed in June 2015 and has since been extended.

The agreement between the club and the betting firm is now due to run until the end of the 2018-19 season even though Sunderland were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2016-17 campaign.

Sunderland launched a Chinese language website as part of the Dafabet deal, while the company also put its name to a four-team tournament at the Stadium of Light between supporters of Sunderland, Everton, Burnley and Celtic.

• Commencement date: June 2016
• Nature of sponsorship: Official front of shirt partnership
• Term: A year
• Value: Approximately £5 million annually

Swansea City announced their deal with BETEAST in June 2016, confirming it was the biggest sponsorship agreement in the history of the club, showing how the influx of gambling companies into the Premier League has sent revenues rocketing.

BETEAST also became the club's official Asian betting and gaming partner under the terms of the deal, with a company spokesman noting the firm was particularly keen to sponsor Swansea City due to the presence of South Korean international midfielder Ki Sung-Yueng at the club.

• Commencement date: August 2016
• Nature of sponsorship: Official betting partner in Europe and Australia
• Term: Two years
• Value: Undisclosed

William Hill is one of the UK's most well-known betting firms, so it is no surprise that Tottenham snapped up the company to be its official betting partner in Europe and Australia in August 2016.

The firm's branding featured on pitchside advertising boards at White Hart Lane and the in-stadium betting services on matchdays was also operated by William Hill due to the deal. William Hill confirmed it would invest into the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation as part of the sponsorship agreement too, while the betting firm has a similar deal in place with Everton.

In addition to the partnership with William Hill, Tottenham has made FUN88 its official betting partner in Asian and Latin American markets. A two-year deal was signed in August 2016.

• Commencement date: June 2013
• Nature of sponsorship: Principal club sponsor
• Term: Ongoing
• Value: Reported to be worth around £1 million per year

Watford announced in March 2017 that its principal club sponsor 138.com would become the first online gaming brand to be featured on the shirt sleeve of a Premier League club.

A rule change for the 2017-18 season permits shirt sleeve sponsors for the first time in Premier League history and Watford has taken advantage by extending its deal with betting firm 138.com.

Watford's links with the company go all the way back to June 2013, with the partnership one of the longest between a Premier League club and a gambling company. The Hertfordshire team also said 138.com would become the club's official global gaming partner, with the firm's chief executive Garth Kimber a committed lifelong fan of the Hornets.

• Commencement date: May 2016
• Nature of sponsorship: Official shirt sponsor
• Term: Two years
• Value: Reportedly £2.3 million a year

West Bromwich Albion agreed a two-year deal for online casino operator UK-K8.com to become the club's new shirt sponsor in May 2016, in what was described as a record deal.

The firm was particularly keen to sponsor a Premier League club to provide a foothold in the UK's burgeoning gambling industry, with K8 Group working with WBA to strengthen their ties in Asia.

As the sponsorship agreement was announced as an initial two-year contract, there is every chance Albion and UK-K8.com will extend the deal further if their partnership is a success.

• Commencement date: February 2015
• Nature of sponsorship: Main club partner and shirt sponsor
• Term: Until at least May 2020
• Value: In excess of £10 million per year, reportedly

Betway stepped in as West Ham's main club sponsor after their previous principal partner, Swiss company Alpari, went out of business at the start of January 2015.

West Ham's move to London's Olympic Stadium has helped the club to move on to the next level and in August 2016 the club announced an extension to the Betway agreement. Vice-chairman Karren Brady described the move as the biggest commercial deal West Ham has done.

But the partnership between West Ham and Betway has not all been plain sailing. The betting firm was forced to issue an apology after an the club's player Michail Antonio was described as "an accident waiting to happen" in a tweet posted from the official Betway social media account.

The incident raised question marks about how partnerships between Premier League clubs and gambling companies could potentially be compromised in the future, but at the moment it is clear there are lots of mutual benefits for betting firms and teams in England's top division.