The bright lights, full stadiums, and pre-match energy tell one story. But behind the kits, the rituals, and the broadcasts, there’s a quieter reality shaping the modern European game—one built on billion-dollar sponsorships, digital strategy, and deals rarely discussed in public. At the center of it all is a growing network of partnerships between top-flight football clubs and the betting industry.

New research from cross-border investigative group Investigate Europe has revealed how far these ties go. Of the 442 clubs competing across 31 top divisions in the European Union and United Kingdom, 296 have at least one sponsorship deal with a gambling company this season. That’s nearly two-thirds of all teams.

These partnerships appear everywhere—on shirt fronts, stadium advertising, mobile apps, and even within region-specific versions of club websites.

The volume alone is telling, but the real story lies in how clubs and betting companies operate in a changing regulatory landscape. Football’s global popularity makes it a magnet for fan engagement, and betting plays a significant role in that appeal. Football predictions have become part of the sport’s culture in nearly every corner of the world, whether through matchday wagers or weekly scoreline forecasts.

The Creative Workarounds

As the Premier League prepares to implement a voluntary ban on front-of-shirt gambling sponsorships by the 2026-27 season, clubs and sponsors in other European leagues have already been testing the limits of similar rules. Italy introduced a ban in 2018. Belgium followed in January 2025.

Yet in both countries, club kits still feature what look suspiciously like traditional betting ads. The trick? Branding tweaks.

Club Brugge, reigning champions of Belgium’s Pro League, replaced “Unibet” with “U-Experts” on their kit. While U-Experts is technically a news app, it’s developed by the same parent company and linked to its gambling services. In Italy, Inter Milan’s kits display “Betsson.sport,” Parma’s feature “AdmiralBet.news,” and Lecce wear “BetItalyPay”—all brands directly associated with gambling operators but designed to appear outside the scope of regulation.

Even more striking is AC Milan’s 2024 agreement with Boomerang Bet as a regional partner in Europe, despite the company being blacklisted by Italian regulators and lacking a local license. The deal was made public in July 2024, and while the club offered no comment, its significance wasn’t lost on observers. It was a bold move—one that reflects how some top clubs continue to balance commercial gain with regulatory risk.

Beyond the Shirt: The Bigger Picture

While front-of-shirt sponsorships draw the most attention, they’re just the tip of the iceberg. According to research from the University of Bristol, the opening weekend of the Premier League season saw nearly 30,000 gambling-related ads across stadiums, broadcasts, social media, and streaming platforms. Shirt sponsorships accounted for less than 10% of that figure.

So even as some leagues move to restrict what appears on a player’s jersey, the wider advertising ecosystem remains flooded with betting promotions. Betting companies understand where the eyeballs are—and they’re willing to pay.

Global Data estimates that gambling brands spent around $135 million on Premier League shirt deals alone during the 2024-25 season. That figure doesn’t include other forms of marketing like digital campaigns, co-branded content, and ambassador partnerships.

Betting Firms and Global Strategy

Many of these deals go beyond local audiences. In fact, some of the most aggressive campaigns are aimed at international markets—particularly in Asia.

Investigate Europe shows 27 clubs from Europe’s top five leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, and Ligue 1) have formal partnerships with Asia-facing betting companies. These brands often don’t operate in Europe, yet they maintain a strong presence through digital signage, regional website content, and geotargeted ads.

In Italy alone, eight Serie A clubs have deals only visible when viewing their websites from Asia or via VPNs based in the region. The digital age has changed the game—not just on the field but also in how sponsorship visibility is controlled, monetized, and selectively broadcast.

Why the Deals Keep Coming

Football clubs aren’t just accepting these deals but actively seeking them. Betting firms offer high-value sponsorship packages, quick turnaround deals, and access to international marketing budgets. That revenue can be crucial for clubs balancing bloated wage bills and Financial Fair Play rules.

It’s not just the top clubs either. Mid-table teams and smaller-market sides in the Dutch Eredivisie, Portugal’s Primeira Liga, and even Bulgaria’s Parva Liga have welcomed betting brands into their sponsor portfolios. In the Netherlands, every club in the Eredivisie has at least one betting partner.

In total, 14 of the 31 leagues analyzed rely on a gambling company as the official title sponsor of their competitions. It’s not hard to see why.

Final Thoughts

The big question now is how long the current landscape will hold. While the Premier League’s voluntary front-of-shirt ban marks a turning point, other leagues are yet to follow suit in any significant way. And even in markets with restrictions, the creativity of clubs and betting firms suggests that the partnerships aren’t going away—they’re simply evolving.

As digital spaces continue to blur national borders, and as clubs seek new ways to monetize global fanbases, the line between regulation and promotion will only get harder to define.

For now, the numbers speak for themselves. Betting firms remain deeply embedded in European football’s financial and cultural fabric. The deals may change shape, but the game behind the game is here to stay.