Sportsbooks x Star Athletes: Does Sportsbook Sponsors Have an Impact on Betting?

The iGaming industry has expanded so much over the years since its peak in the early 2020s, and it cannot be denied that the influence of betting now spans wider than ever across the globe with a lot of gambling platforms accessible for those who want to make the most of their bets night in and night out. But what do sponsors bring to the table when it comes to bringing the industry to a whole new level?

Sportsbooks x Star Athletes image

Paul Daniel Flores
Paul Daniel Flores

⏳ 11 mins read

📖 Published: February 19th, 2025

✍️ Updated: March 17th, 2025

General

The iGaming industry has surged since the early 2020s, significantly influenced by sportsbook sponsorships that enhance visibility and credibility. With the pandemic driving a spike in betting, sponsorships have normalized betting in sports, fostering trust and expanding audience reach. Major leagues and players partnering with sportsbooks have further solidified this trend, creating unique marketing opportunities. Ultimately, sponsorships are pivotal to the growth and acceptance of sports betting globally.

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The Massive Betting Expansion

With people confined in their homes and boredom striking hard, there has been a massive spike of betting – both on sports, esports, and casino gaming all around at the onset of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. People were able to entertain themselves while also coming up with the unique experience of learning how various casino games work, the differences between many sports betting odds, and many other betting-related experiences that they didn’t know before.

For years, betting has faced scrutiny as it is commonly, yet wrongly associated with illegal activities, thus, many betting platforms had to find workarounds and hacks that could have given them a boost or any way that they can attract potential bettors without being taken down from the internet or facing allegations all around.

Annual Value of Sports Sponsorship Agreements with Gambling Companies

Annual Value of Sports Sponsorship Agreements with Gambling Companies image

Region Value ($ Million)
Europe $321 million
South America $82.66 million
Oceania $16.8 million
North America $16.58 million
Africa $6.3 million

That’s where sportsbook sponsors have come to life, and it cannot be denied that it has been a huge success. It has normalized the presence of betting entities across multiple channels, industries, and even sports leagues. The legalization of sports betting across the United States alone has helped influence many nations to adopt the same laws – considering that North America was a huge market that took time for sports betting to break through.

How Sponsorships Helped the Sports Betting Industry Emerge?

As the global market of sports betting continues to grow at a massive scale, the need for platforms to compete and gain influence on the big stage of the industry has led to many drastic measures, hoping that sponsorships would work well to elevate their brand. So far, this has been a promising note in the industry, and it cannot be denied that sponsorships have paved the way for sports betting to emerge as a competitive scene as well.

So how have sponsorships across multiple betting platforms eventually helped the betting industry emerge on a grand scale?

Trust and Visibility

Sponsorship means trust and visibility for sportsbooks image

If we were back in the early ‘90s or 2000s, betting would have rung a little bit differently than it would today. Back then, it would have been seen on a negative side, somewhat making sports betting and even casino gaming a different experience that is tied to illicit activities. However, thanks to the various sponsorships from many betting sites, these false assumptions have been somewhat neutralized – and it even fostered a positive light on sports betting as a whole, leading to the legalization of betting activities over the years.

With brand visibility and trust built thanks to sponsors, bettors are more likely to engage with the betting platforms from time to time knowing that some of their favorite icons – whether it is artists, athletes, or even popular companies of various commodities – are recognizing the betting platform as it is. It removes any doubt or sense of distrust for the sports betting brand in question.

Increased Audience Reach

With sponsorships, sports betting companies are able to build a bigger reach overall, and this helps a lot in leveraging their identity on a global level – giving them an advantage over other competitors while also expanding their reach. Many of the popular betting brands we know today have started from the ground up, before finally being able to break through and come up with a global presence over the years.

Partnerships with companies that have a wider reach than local sponsors are a huge win, and this gives sports betting sites a huge lift, especially when it comes to garnering a bigger audience as well. Over the years, sponsorships have paved the way for betting companies to enjoy a trustworthy brand presence while also being able to cater to different audiences, leading to a stronger and more stable reach.

Heightened Revenue

Well, what would you expect when you bring in massive sponsors for a betting site? Of course, the main goal is to increase and come up with a stable revenue in the long run. That is a primary benefit to look out for, and these funds could go a long way as they help improve facilities, enhance player development programs, and even support outreach activities that would benefit the brand overall.

Sponsorships means increased revenue image

Bigger revenue is a huge win, and sportsbooks get to improve overall with increased traffic. From advertisements, subscriptions, and even in-app purchases, all these can generate massive revenue for betting sites in the long run, which should allow these sportsbooks to emerge as leading contenders in the betting industry for years to come.

Sportsbook Sponsorship: How Does it Work?

In case you have been wondering how a specific sportsbook gets itself a sponsor, there are many different ways that this can be acquired, all of which have impressive results and effects for the said sportsbook – drastically improving all of the facets that a betting site needs at this point.

So how do sponsorships work for sportsbooks?

Club Kit Sponsorships

Perhaps the most prominent among many sponsorship choices is for sportsbooks to be included in the kit, uniforms, and jerseys. This is common, especially in European leagues. In the English Premier League alone, a total of 11 clubs have a gambling brand as its main sponsor on their club kits during the 2024-25 season alone. This comes as a promising note considering that clubs have agreed collectively to halt gambling-related sponsorships in front of matchday shirts. This is slated to take effect starting the 2026-27 season, which means there will be at least one more season where sportsbook sponsors will remain in front of club shirts.

EPL Clubs with Sportsbook Sponsors

EPL Clubs with Sportsbook Sponsors image

Club Sponsor
Aston Villa Betano
Bournemouth BJ88
Brentford Hollywood Bets
Crystal Palace NET88
Everton Stake
Fulham SBOTOP.net
Leicester City BC.Game
Nottingham Forest Kaiyun Sports
West Ham United Betway
Wolverhampton Wanderers Debet

Sponsorships, however, aren’t limited to just sponsorship for soccer leagues. The NBA has also adopted adding sponsors to the upper right side of their jerseys, and various teams and leagues have followed that same trend as well. At this point, being seen in multiple games from time to time does lead to bigger search traction and huge exposure for sportsbooks in the long run.

Broadcast Sponsorship

Sportsbooks have become more visible in the United States ever since there has been an influx of states with sports betting legalized at a bigger level. So far, this has led to a spike of Americans in 2022 alone placing at least one wager on any sport at about 20%. The deeper and outlying impact, however, has been in relation to sports broadcasts. Game predictions have been now based on the odds presented by sportsbooks – and gambling is discussed more openly than it was back then.

American Leagues With Sports Betting Partners

American Leagues With Sports Betting Partners image

League Sports Betting Partners
NBA FanDuel, DraftKings
NFL Caesars, DraftKings, FanDuel
NHL PENN Entertainment
MLB FanDuel
MLS MGM Resorts, IMG Arena

Sports broadcasts now give updates on the betting line or even the over/unders. There’s even massive parts of sports broadcasts that are largely dedicated to betting as a whole. If you are not impressed, ESPN has launched its own betting platform, ESPN Bet, which ties up with the broadcast and provides all of the betting odds, markets, and many other betting notions. This is why many sportsbooks now tend to partner with many broadcast entities to further involve their brands on a bigger scale as hosts will also entice players to wager on betting platforms.

Player Sponsorships

Of course, player sponsorships aren’t new at this point in time. There are a lot of players who have accepted partnerships with betting sites, and it cannot be denied that there are a lot of high-profile icons who have engaged themselves with sports betting entities. Over the years, players have ideally inked with sportsbooks, fostering deals and coming up with impressive partnerships that have led to huge results over the years.

LeBron James is famously known for being a sponsor for DraftKings image

For starters, NBA’s LeBron James has inked a deal to partner with DraftKings, and is even appearing on commercials with them. He is encouraging bettors to place wagers on markets of his choice, giving picks of the week on NFL markets, which says a lot about how die-hard LeBron fans are taking this in. Some of them may even definitely heed his picks in placing wagers.

Are Sponsorships the Pillar of Sportsbook Influence?

In conclusion, sportsbook sponsorships offer a range of valuable benefits for sportsbooks. By partnering with well-known teams, athletes, or events, sportsbooks gain enhanced brand visibility and credibility, which can attract a larger customer base. These sponsorships provide unique marketing opportunities, including exclusive promotions, branded content, and in-game activations, helping sportsbooks stand out in a competitive market.

Additionally, they create a stronger connection with sports fans, leveraging the emotional appeal of athletes and teams to increase engagement. Ultimately, sportsbook sponsorships play a crucial role in expanding brand recognition, fostering customer loyalty, and driving growth in the sports betting industry.

Make sure to consult our Gamble AI if you have some concerns in your betting plans or in need of a new betting strategy. The more well-thought your wagers are, the bigger your chances of winning in each of your wagers!

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