Asian Betting Firms Who Sponsor English Football Teams
Author:
Megan Butler
The past decade has witnessed an infiltration of English football by Asian sports betting firms vying to acquire customers in Europe’s most lucrative market. For fans of the Premier League, it’s hard to ignore the prevalence of betting sponsorships emblazoned on team jerseys, in commercial breaks on live broadcasts of matches, and inside the stadium on advertising boards, and offered directly to fans via on-site bookies. So which Asian firms are leading this trend?
Asian sports betting firms are infiltrating English football at an increasing rate. It’s known now how these lucrative deals affect all aspects of the game!
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List of Asian Firms Sponsoring Premier League Clubs
The meteoric rise of Asian sports betting companies in recent years has led to a significant surge in their presence within the English football landscape. These firms, eager to tap into the vast fanbase and global recognition of English football, have inked lucrative sponsorship deals with various clubs, both in the Premier League and in the lower leagues. This list highlights some of the partnerships that have emerged since 2017, showcasing the growing influence and prominence of Asian betting companies in the sport. Through these sponsorships, the firms not only boost their brand visibility but also deepen their connection with millions of football fans across Asia and beyond.
- W88 – Crystal Palace (2020-2021) – Main shirt sponsor
- Fun88 – Newcastle United (2017-2021) – Main shirt sponsor
- Sportsbet.io – Southampton (2020-2021) – Main shirt sponsor
- Dafabet – Norwich City (2021-2022) – Main shirt sponsor
- Dafabet – Sunderland (2015-2017) – Main shirt sponsor
- Dafabet – Blackburn Rovers (2016-2017) – Main shirt sponsor
- Dafabet – Burnley (2016-2019) – Main shirt sponsor
- M88 – AFC Bournemouth (2017-2020) – Main shirt sponsor
- ManBetX – Wolverhampton Wanderers (2019-2020) – Main shirt sponsor
- ManBetX – Crystal Palace (2017-2019) – Main shirt sponsor
- K8.com – West Bromwich Albion (2018-2019) – Main shirt sponsor
- LeTou – Swansea City (2017-2018) – Main shirt sponsor
- 12BET – Hull City (2017-2018) – Main shirt sponsor
- OPE Sports – Huddersfield Town (2017-2018) – Main shirt sponsor
- SBOT0P – Leeds (2021-2022) – Main shirt sponsor
- KB88 – West Bromwich Albion (2017-2018) – Official Asian Betting Partner
- TLCBet – Southampton (2017-2018) – Official Asian Betting Partner
- Stake.com – Everton (2022-2023) – Main shirt sponsor
- W88 – Fulham (2021-2023) – Main shirt sponsor
This list is by no means the exhaustive list of all Asian betting partnerships in the top-flights of English football, but it certainly does illustrate just how profound the influx has become. To get the full picture and to understand why this relationship continues to prosper, one must understand the nature of the Asian sports betting market. The incentives for Asian betting sites to sponsor English football teams are growing.
EPL is the Perfect Sponsorship Opportunity for Asian Firms
The English Premier League is watched by billions of people around the world, and of those audiences the highest concentration is emerging from China. As the country with the world’s biggest viewership of the league, it helps to explain the intense relationship these firms have with the Premier League clubs, and why they would be willing to make above market rate offers to become official partners with them.
Despite these sponsorship agreements, gambling in China remains illegal outside of Macau. Firms around the country are only legally permitted to market their services to overseas customers, and in theory are not allowed to host any of the products within China. With millions of Chinese viewers watching these matches and noticing the betting advertisements on team jerseys – which are sometimes written in Chinese – there is an increased customer acquisition momentum that comes from that.
Gambling in China is only possible on the internet and has become prevalent with firms based offshore in the Philippines and other peripheral nations. Chinese customers simply access the betting platforms via a VPN and place bets on Premier League matches using betting companies that are advertised by the teams themselves. The notion of sports-washing couldn’t be clearer throughout this model, but for the Premier League clubs and other organizations partnering up with these firms, it’s all about the money.
