Gambling operators sponsoring Spanish teams

Eight of the teams playing in Spain’s top league have shirt sponsorship deals with a gambling operator. Just because the logo isn’t on the shirt, it doesn’t mean there is some form of sponsorship with a gambling company, as will be shown later. It is not just in Spain where this is becoming increasingly popular. Over in the UK, there has also been a growth in both online casinos and sponsorships of teams.

The surge in popularity of online gambling has meant the need to look at in-depth reviews of online casinos before deciding to join one and playing with real money.

Betway are the most prolific shirt sponsors, having deals arranged with Alaves, Levante and Leganes. The company are no strangers to shirt sponsorship deals with football teams. They currently have a major deal with English Premier League club West Ham United.

Other La Liga clubs with shirt sponsorship from gambling operators are Granada (Winamax), Osasuna (Kirolbet), Sevilla (MarathonBet), RCD Mallorca (Betfred) and Valencia (Bwin),

The Bet365 logo may not be seen on shirts but the company have deals with several La Liga sides. They will be receiving a great deal of exposure thanks to their logo being on social media, buses and the club’s stadiums. The list includes Athletic Bilbao, Espanyol, Real Betis, Real Valladolid and Getafe.

RCD Mallorca were promoted to La Liga for the 2019/20 season. They have a new shirt sponsorship deal and it’s with Betfred. It’s a two-season deal, and their new sponsors will have loved the recent home win over Real Madrid.

Their branding is featured heavily around the club’s stadium and is Betfred’s first partnership made outside of the UK. It was a logical move for the company after recently being given a new sportsbook and casino licence in Spain.

It's noticeable that the sponsorship deals aren’t with the absolute elite clubs in La Liga. Clubs such as Real Madrid and Barcelona have truly massive deals in place. Barcelona have 58m euros a season deal with Rakuten, while Real Madrid have a deal with Emirates that brings in around 70m euros a season.

While those two giants of Spanish football don’t have shirt sponsorship, they do have official gambling partners. Barcelona have a partnership with 1xBet, while Real Madrid’s is with Codere Apuestas. Atletico Madrid are another club that has a sponsorship deal with Bwin, so the links are there even with the top clubs in La Liga.

There are those however who aren’t fans of the link between the sport and gambling.

Worries are still prevalent about the fear that people will see the sponsorship and their gambling will increase to out-of-control levels. Bookmakers do have lots of information on their sites about responsible gambling.

With so much gambling taking place on football, it’s likely that more and more sponsorship deals will be signed in the future. The bookmakers realize that La Liga is one of the most important leagues in Europe. As the Spanish league grows in popularity, becoming involved with the clubs will boost awareness of their brand.