{"id":8323,"date":"2023-06-29T17:28:49","date_gmt":"2023-06-29T17:28:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bettingwebsites.org.uk\/?page_id=8323"},"modified":"2023-11-29T16:36:32","modified_gmt":"2023-11-29T16:36:32","slug":"bookmaker-sponsorship","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bettingwebsites.org.uk\/articles\/bookmaker-sponsorship\/","title":{"rendered":"Bookmaker Sponsorship – What Sports & Events Do Bookies Sponsor"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"bet365Betting companies like brands in other industries need to get their name out there.\u00a0 Betting on sports is big business and so it makes sense that now and in the past bookies have sponsored these aggressively.<\/p>\n

It is not just about trying to attract new customers either, advertising is important for big bookmakers and betting brands to ensure that people remember their names and see them as still relevant.<\/p>\n

The big brand names have been sponsoring sports since way back in the 1970’s and as a cash rich industry<\/a> they can often outcompete sponsors in other markets.\u00a0 Indeed, betting companies capitalised on tobacco and later alcohol advertising bans by increasing the number of events they sponsored.<\/p>\n

In more recent times gambling sponsorship has been under the spotlight, especially in football.\u00a0 This has led to some sports moving away from gambling sponsors.\u00a0 This is even true in traditional games like darts and snooker who have opted for sponsors such as Cazoo in recent years.<\/p>\n

How betting companies will adapt in the future remains to be seen but what we can guarantee is they will continue to sponsor sports and games where they are allowed to and where they are welcomed.\u00a0 Here we look at the major betting companies and what they have sponsor now and in the past.<\/p>\n

Betfred<\/h2>\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Sport<\/th>\nSponsoring<\/th>\nYears<\/th>\nCost<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Horse Racing<\/td>\nGroup One Spring Cup<\/td>\n2005 \u2013 2016<\/td>\nUnknown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cheltenham Gold Cup<\/td>\n2012 \u2013 2015<\/td>\n\u00a3550,000 in Prize Money<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Epsom Downs Classics<\/td>\n2023 \u2013 2026<\/td>\n\u00a31.5 Million in Prize Money<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Betfred St Leger Stakes<\/td>\n2023 – ????<\/td>\nUnknown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rugby League<\/td>\nSuper League<\/td>\n2017 – 2023<\/td>\n\u00a3850,000 – \u00a3900,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
National Conference League<\/td>\n2018 – 2019<\/td>\nUnknown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Men\u2019s, Women\u2019s and Wheelchair England Rugby Teams<\/td>\n2022 – 2023<\/td>\nUnknown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Snooker<\/td>\nWorld Snooker Championships<\/td>\n2009 \u2013 2012
\n2015 – 2022<\/td>\n		Unknown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Football<\/td>\nScottish League Cup<\/td>\n2016 – 2019<\/td>\n\u00a31 Million<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bolton Wanderers Shirt Sponsor<\/td>\n2017 \u2013 2019<\/td>\nUnknown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RCD Mallorca Shirt Sponsor<\/td>\n2019 – 2021<\/td>\nUnknown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Darts<\/td>\nPDC World Matchplay<\/td>\n2019 – 2025<\/td>\n\u00a3700,000 – \u00a3800,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
NFL<\/td>\nDenver Broncos<\/td>\n2020 – ????<\/td>\nUnknown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cincinnati Bengals<\/td>\n2022 – ????<\/td>\nUnknown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
MLB<\/td>\nColorado Rockies<\/td>\n2021 – ????<\/td>\nUnknown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
USL<\/td>\nLoudoun United<\/td>\n2023 – ????<\/td>\nUnknown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

The Betfred brand<\/a> launched in 1967 as a single betting shop in Salford<\/a>. By 2000, the total number of shops owned by Betfred stood at 200. It was in 2004 that the company changed its name from Done Bookmakers to Betfred, this came about to coincide with the launch of its online platform.<\/p>\n

Through that website, it offered sports betting, casino gaming, bingo, and much more. It maintains this level of entertainment to this day. In the proceeding years, Betfred has gone from strength to strength. By July 2017, it owned 1,650 shops across the United Kingdom. That same year, it celebrated 50 years of business.<\/p>\n

Those years have also seen Betfred involve itself in several sponsorship deals. They include sponsorship in the areas of horse racing, rugby league, snooker, and football, amongst others. Even darts and the NFL have been able to form partnerships with Betfred.<\/p>\n

\n

Horse Racing<\/h3>\n

Betfred has a long-running relationship with the horse racing sector. It remains as one of the largest sponsors of the sport. For many years it had races spread across various racecourses. This included the Midlands National run, the Dante Stakes, and the Cesarewitch Handicap.<\/p>\n

In 2017, the brand had to end its commercial relationship with British racing, though. This saw it close its on-course betting shops at almost all tracks<\/a>. The only ones remaining were those at Ascot and Chelmsford. Yet in 2023, new sponsorship deals with The Oaks, The Derby and St Leger came to light.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Rugby League<\/h3>\n

The Super League has had seven sponsors since its inaugural season in 1996. Stones Bitter was its initial sponsor and Betfred is its most recent. The company became the first bookmaker to sponsor the Super League in 2017. Betfair offered to sponsor the Super League in 2012, but this was not accepted by the RFL.<\/p>\n

Estimates suggest the deal is worth \u00a3850,000 – \u00a3900,000 per year. As a result of the deal, it became known as the Betfred Super League. Betfred also signed a two-year deal to sponsor the Championship and League 1 in 2018. Then, between 2022 and 2023, it would sponsor the England men’s, women\u2019s, and wheelchair teams’ shirts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Snooker<\/h3>\n

Most of the World Snooker Championships had sponsorship from tobacco companies to 2005. This had been in place ever since 1969. Legislation introduced in 2003 placed restrictions on tobacco advertising, though.<\/p>\n

As a result, from 2006 to 2022, sponsorship came from betting companies. Betfred first sponsored it between 2009 and 2012. It then returned as sponsor between 2015 and 2022<\/a>. It now gets its sponsorship from online car retailer Cazoo.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Football<\/h3>\n

One of Betfred’s longest-running partnerships in football came with Manchester United. Between 2006 and 2013, it was the official betting partner of the football club. This partnership was also renewed before the 2022-23 season.<\/p>\n

Betfred also took over the sponsorship of the Scottish League Cup in 2016. This saw the Cup rebranded as the Betfred Cup for three years initially. The deal was then extended to last until 2021 and was worth \u00a31 million.<\/p>\n

Further to that, Betfred has been the shirt sponsor for two football teams. In 2017, it became the shirt sponsor for Bolton Wanderers for two seasons. Then, in 2019, it partnered with RCD Mallorca as its shirt sponsor. This would last for two seasons once again. In both instances, the teams’ shirts displayed the Betfred logo.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Darts<\/h3>\n

The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) has also benefitted from a Betfred partnership. In 2019, the betting brand announced it would sponsor the World Matchplay tournament. This deal would last until 2022 in its initial state.<\/p>\n

Before the 2022 event got underway, Betfred said it had renewed the deal until 2025. This sees the tournament named as the Betfred World Matchplay. Total prize money during Betfred’s sponsorship has stood at \u00a3700,000 – \u00a3800,000.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

NFL, MLB & USL<\/h3>\n

Betfred has even begun sponsoring sports teams in the United States of America. In 2020, it signed into a multi-year deal with the Denver Broncos as official sports betting partner. The team was due to open its sports betting lounge that year and Betfred’s logo would be visible within.<\/p>\n

A similar deal came about between Betfred and the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022. At the NFL team’s home ground, Paycor Stadium, the Betfred logo appears atop the scoreboard. There is also the Betfred Gate for fans to walk through. The betting brand is the only one to have its logo showcased inside the Paycor Stadium.<\/p>\n

Baseball hasn’t gone untouched, either. In 2021, Betfred signed a multi-year deal with the Colorado Rockies. This surrounds marketing and sponsorship. The terms of the deal also includes various digital and stadium assets at Coors field. Game day experiences for fans, like ticket giveaways, also make up a part of it. Betfred stands as a Proud Partner of the Colorado Rockies.<\/p>\n

The final foray into the U.S. sports scene (for now) is a deal with the USL team, Loudoun United. As Betfred prepared to launch its mobile sportsbook in Virginia, the deal came to light. It sees the betting brand’s logo appear on the back of Loudoun soccer players’ away shirts. The multi-year deal will see further brand activations planned, too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

William Hill<\/h2>\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Sport<\/th>\nSponsoring<\/th>\nYears<\/th>\nCost<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Horse Racing<\/td>\nGrand National<\/td>\n2023 – 2026<\/td>\nUnknown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Racing League<\/td>\n2021 – 2022<\/td>\nUnknown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Football<\/td>\nChelsea<\/td>\n2016 – 2019<\/td>\nUnknown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Everton<\/td>\n2016 \u2013 2018<\/td>\nUnknown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tottenham<\/td>\n2016 \u2013 ????<\/td>\nUnknown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Scottish Cup<\/td>\n2011 – 2020<\/td>\n\u00a31 Million+<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Celtic FC<\/td>\n2022 – 2024<\/td>\nUnknown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Robbie Savage<\/td>\n2010 – ????<\/td>\nUnknown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Darts<\/td>\nPDC World Darts Championship<\/td>\n2015 – 2022<\/td>\n\u00a32 Million<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
NFL<\/td>\nIndianapolis Colts<\/td>\n2020 – ????<\/td>\nUnknown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
U.S. Sports<\/td>\nNHL<\/td>\n2019 – ????<\/td>\nUnknown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
U.S. Sports<\/td>\nNBA<\/td>\n2019 – ????<\/td>\nUnknown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Boxing<\/td>\nAnthony Joshua<\/td>\n2018 – 2019<\/td>\nUnknown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
U.S. Sports<\/td>\nMonumental Sports & Entertainment<\/td>\n2019 – ????<\/td>\nUnknown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

William Hill<\/a> is another long-running UK gambling company<\/a>. First starting out in 1934, the brand began as a series of land-based betting shops. It changed hands several times throughout the years. The London Stock Exchange would list it in 2002, and this helped it build a great reputation. As the late 2000s and into the 2010s hit, the company suffered a little.<\/p>\n

It had over \u00a31 billion of debt, later reported as \u00a31.5 billion. Various restructuring took place, although in 2018, it received a fine of \u00a36.2 million from the UKGC. After its acquisition by Caesars Entertainment in 2020, it received another penalty. In 2023, the Commission handed out a huge \u00a319.2 million fine<\/a> for social responsibility failures.<\/p>\n

Despite some of its shortcomings, William Hill has entered into various deals over the years. It has had a big presence within the horse racing industry, as well as in football. Yet a lot of its more recent partnerships have come together with U.S. brands and sports. This is more notable after its takeover by Caesars Entertainment – a U.S. company.<\/p>\n

\n

Horse Racing<\/h3>\n

William Hill and horse racing go back years. Then again, the company has been active since the 1930s. There have been various horse races sponsored by the company throughout that time. In 2007, the betting firm threatened to withdraw such deals<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This came about due to its dispute with racecourses over TurfTV. At the time, it was the sponsor of the William Hill Trophy at the Cheltenham Festival. Yet it ended up subscribing to the channel in January of the following year.<\/p>\n

A couple of the more recent sponsorships in horse racing from William Hill have been:<\/p>\n