In recent years, gambling operators have turned their attention to the English Premier League, using the high-exposure platform of jersey sponsorship for brand promotion.
As the world's most watched football league, the Premier League has a huge audience base, and the UK has standardized gambling regulations, attracting many gambling enterprises to choose this location for its unique features.
The World's Leading Football League
If you ask men around the world for a simple answer about their most vivid impression of Britain, most would likely mention the "Premier League."
The English Premier League (EPL) is synonymous with the world of football.
When discussing Britain, the focus is not on whether it is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, nor on its role as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, nor its history as the empire on which the sun never sets, and not even the Thames River or the Tower Bridge.
The Premier League has silently become the "business card" of the nation of Britain.
You might not feel the impact of this statement, so let's look at some figures to understand the value and influence of the Premier League:
1. The Premier League is broadcast in 156 countries, with about 4 billion people watching each week globally;
2. The highest attendance in a single Premier League season has exceeded 15 million, with an average attendance rate of 97.7%, and an average of 39,000 people attending each match;
3. The 2021-2022 Premier League season generated revenue exceeding 6 billion pounds, equivalent to the combined revenues of the second-ranked La Liga and third-ranked Bundesliga; even the last-placed Premier League team earned about 120 million pounds.
The Premier League possesses extraordinary commercial value and economic benefits, along with the highest global exposure of any sports event.
Over the past 15 years, football has evolved from primarily attracting fans through the geographical affiliations of clubs to becoming a globalized sport.
The commercial nature of football also benefits from the global influence and appeal of top clubs and star players, with everything from club values to player transfer fees seeing massive increases, including the commercialization of players' image rights and autographs.
Thus, the jerseys worn in every match naturally gain tremendous added value.
Jersey Value Leading Club Sponsorship Value
Today, a reliable indicator of a club's commercial status internationally is "jersey value," representing the total value of transactions between major jersey sponsors and suppliers.
Sponsorship has become a key force driving the success and sustainable development of clubs. Football sponsorship has become the lifeline for clubs, players, and the sport itself.
According to Football Benchmark data, Real Madrid Football Club ranks at the top with a jersey value of 190 million euros, mainly benefiting from lucrative partnerships with Emirates Airlines and Adidas, two global commercial giants that virtually monopolize all of Real Madrid's jersey advertising.
Among the top eight, four Premier League clubs are listed, namely Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City, and Chelsea, ranked 4th to 7th respectively.
Once again, Serie A clubs did not make this list, highlighting the challenges Italian clubs face in securing high-value sponsorship deals comparable to those of European clubs—operators must be cautious when choosing to sponsor Serie A clubs; we'll leave this topic for future articles.
Returning to the four listed Premier League teams, we observe that the main sponsors are still airlines (Emirates, Etihad Airways), sports brands (Adidas, Nike, Puma), and software companies (Team Viewer), with Chelsea having a sports data provider, Infinity Athlete, as a sponsor.
Thus, when discussing the main industries involved in football sponsorship, airlines are actually the primary jersey sponsors, contributing the most to the commercial revenue of the top five leagues. With only 7 effective contracts, their transaction value is close to 350 million euros.
In contrast, the technology, communications, and media industries, with 17 active deals, have more than twice the number of transactions in this sector, yet their total value has not reached the 300 million euro mark.
Meanwhile, the gambling industry, with a total value of 84 million euros, ranks as the fifth largest industry, and based on the number of active transactions (12), it is the second largest industry.
It's worth noting that the aforementioned sports data provider, Infinity Athlete, does not engage in the gambling industry.
As of now, 18 Premier League clubs have signed agreements with gambling companies, with only two not cooperating with gambling firms, and 11 of the 18 have achieved jersey collaborations.
Although the total amount is not high, the enthusiasm of various gambling operators for jersey sponsorship is evident.
As for why gambling operators are so keen on Premier League jersey sponsorship, PASA will explain the reasons.
The Shortcut to Riches for Gambling Operators
For a sports gambling operator, regardless of their stage of development, sponsoring a Premier League team's jersey can greatly increase the likelihood of short-term success.
If you are a startup operator, in the UK you can quickly and legally enter the market through a "white label" strategy.
White label strategy—by purchasing the authorization of a company with an existing gambling license, you indirectly obtain the right to promote your brand in the target market, bypassing complex application procedures and cumbersome regulatory requirements. This method allows for rapid market entry.
Among the current jersey sponsors, some have legally entered the market using this method, such as Bournemouth's sponsor BJ88.
White label casinos are designed for businesses, enterprises, and individuals who want to enter the rapidly growing online gambling industry but lack the expertise or resources to develop a casino platform from scratch.
It provides a one-stop solution, enabling them to quickly and efficiently launch their own online casino, using existing casino gaming software, under an existing brand or business name.
This method allows a gambling operator, who originally had nothing, to directly own a complete gambling platform and then legally enter the UK market.
Next, gaining exposure and customers through sponsoring Premier League team jerseys:
One. Brand exposure, directly reaching the customer base
The annual sponsorship market size of Europe's top five leagues exceeds 3.3 billion euros, with jersey front advertising sponsorships accounting for one-third of the market share.
As mentioned earlier, as the world's top league, the Premier League has a global audience of 4 billion each year, representing a massive fan base, who are not only viewers of the matches but also potential consumers.
Through jersey front advertising, gambling operators not only enhance their brand exposure and recognition but also directly reach these fans, achieving direct user conversion.
Moreover, fans of Premier League clubs often have higher spending power and loyalty, making them ideal target customers for gambling operators.
Two. Avoiding legal restrictions and risks
The high viewership and global broadcasting of the Premier League enable the sponsorship effects of gambling operators to transcend national boundaries, achieving global dissemination.
Since the gambling business is restricted in some countries and regions, many marketing methods face regulatory challenges, forcing gambling operators to adopt stealth marketing strategies to circumvent legal restrictions.
However, by sponsoring jersey front advertising, conveying brand information to consumers in countries or regions where gambling advertising is restricted, this strategy effectively avoids legal risks, achieving complete marketing exposure.
Conclusion
Therefore, by launching products through a white label strategy and then acquiring customers through jersey sponsorship (and these are loyal customers globally)—gambling operators sponsoring Premier League team jerseys in the UK essentially achieve a perfect alignment of timing, location, and people.
This is almost the quickest path from zero to riches for gambling operators, and it is also the main reason why Premier League jersey sponsorship rights are fiercely competed for by various gambling operators!
We look forward to discussing more unique insights about white label casinos and jersey sponsorships with our readers and invite you to follow the global get-rich industry information platform PASA for more firsthand get-rich industry news. Subscribe to the official PASA channel: https://t.me/pasaqqzxzz
