The rise in online betting has been pretty significant in the USA over the last few years. More and more states are now starting to legalise sports betting, and with that is coming endorsements and sponsorship deals with some of the major leagues across the country.
It’s the beginning of something which could become huge in the country and could completely transform the sports as a whole. That’s been proven with many sports across the world, from horse racing to soccer as online betting starts to become more prominent worldwide.
In the US many punters are now starting to take advantage of current bookmaker offers, and the leagues are taking note and wanting a slice of the pie.
US Sports Betting Sponsorship
Over the past two years a number of major deals have been put in place with major betting brands and sports divisions.
The NBA were the first sports league to gain a gambling partner as many parts of the country legalized sports betting, with the league making a major deal with MGM back in 2018, becoming the first time in history there had been such a relationship.
It didn’t stop there, with MGM joining forces with the NHL, while in 2019 the NFL announced a major deal with Caesars. More and more are now cropping up, but it’s perhaps in the MLS where there’s a real game changer.
The MLS has become the first major league in the USA that will allow its franchise clubs to make deals with gambling brands as official shirt sponsors.
It’s been a long time coming, with the league also recently allowing alcohol and brands to advertise with clubs, and it is only a matter of time before the league starts welcoming more and more brands to their shirts.
Alongside this, clubs will also have the right to sell advertising space and boards to gambling brands. It’s likely other leagues will follow, especially as the money made by clubs starts to come through.
How The Future Could Look
It’s likely the MLS will follow in the footsteps of the likes of the Premier League over the next few years, with gambling brands becoming a reliable and huge source of income for teams.
In the Premier League alone, 10 of the 20 clubs have some variation of shirt sponsorship with a gambling brand, whether that be as a main sponsor or a sleeve sponsor, while across Europe it’s a similar story.
What is more, the vast majority have official gambling partners, something which seems inevitable across all sports teams in the country.
Teams will be looking at the Premier League and the amount of money it is generating for clubs. It’s believed that clubs earn over $300million in gambling sponsorship, with West Ham enjoying a deal more than $60million with Betway over shirt sponsorship.
Negotiations over the next few years will be rife, and what’s more there will be a huge appeal for gambling brands too. In the UK, many brands sponsoring clubs are already established in the country. In the USA it’s a different story and ultimately the sportsbooks need the teams just as much as the other way round, with the legalization of sportsbook so new. It’s a brand new marketplace and in order to get to the top brands are going to have to be seen to be heard. The MLS is the first step for them being able to do that.
It will be interesting to see how sports betting sponsorship develops over the coming years, but it seems absolutely undoubted that it’s going to prove a huge revenue stream for clubs and that brands will have a prominent positioning with them.
