Rugby is a thriving sport. There are over 12 million fans in the UK (Nielsen’s Sports Fan Insights), Premiership Rugby is the most popular it’s ever been, and everyone is looking forward to the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2025. It’s a great time to be a rugby fan — which is why many gambling companies are eyeing up potential sponsorship opportunities.
The Rise of Gambling Sponsorships in Rugby
Gambling sponsorships are 100% legal in rugby.
Teams, tournaments, and other rugby events can all use betting sponsors so long as it’s done in a responsible way without breaking any advertising laws or regulations. For example, LeoVegas, the self-proclaimed “King of Casino”, has been an official sponsor of the Leicester Tigers since 2017. Part of the agreement is that the LeoVegas logo appears on the club’s shorts and that LeoVegas gets to use advertising space across the boards at the Welford Road stadium.
Back in 2019, Premiership Rugby also signed a contract with BetUK.com, owned by LeoVegas Mobile Gaming Group, to make it the official betting partner of the league. This was a big statement at the time, as it symbolized the cultural shift of the rugby world being more accepting of gambling. The deal also meant that BetUK.com received exclusive rights to livestreams of Premiership Rugby, meaning they could provide their customers with the opportunity to watch live games through the BetUK app. This gave BetUK excellent brand exposure, as many rugby fans jumped at the opportunity to place live in-game bets while watching rugby from home.
2022 saw Betfred, one of the biggest bookmakers in the entire country, become an official shirt sponsor for England’s wheelchair rugby teams. This came following a successful partnership between Betfred and Rugby League Commercial from 2017 to 2019, where the men’s Super League was officially called the “Betfred Super League”. The 2-year deal with England’s wheelchair rugby teams is set to expire at the end of 2024, although a contract extension could be on the horizon in response to positive feedback and rugby’s growing gambling audience.
How Gambling Sponsorships Benefit Rugby
From sportsbooks to popular online casinos, there are countless gambling companies listed on the industry review site gamblingpromocodes.com that could potentially sponsor rugby teams in the future. The opportunities are endless for the Rugby League, who would get to experience the financial reward, brand exposure, and other benefits that companies like BetFred have previously brought to the table.
In 2024, rugby sponsorships are more important than ever. This is especially true following the news that nine out of 10 Premiership Rugby clubs posted losses of £25m during the 2022-23 season. One of the contributing factors to these losses was the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to Premiership Rugby clubs relying on loans. Currently, the clubs are in a legal battle with the government over the repayment of loans which are worth over £150m.
To help eliminate any financial strain, Premiership Rugby teams should look to create sponsorship deals with gambling companies like many of them have done before. Sports gambling has recently reached new heights in the UK, with the Gambling Commision reporting that 43% of the UK population participates in gambling at least once a month. Therefore, now is an excellent opportunity to take advantage of this and provide the Premiership Rugby ecosystem with some financial security through gambling sponsorships.
Will Rugby Gambling Sponsorships Be Banned in the Future?
For now, gambling sponsorships are still allowed in rugby. However, what’s interesting is that the UK government is currently cracking down on betting sponsors in football, with one of the biggest changes meaning that all twenty Premier League teams will be banned from having gambling sponsors on their matchday shirts from the start of the 2025-26 season.
The UK government could soon turn its attention to rugby, too, much like the Australian government has in their country. In Australia, where twelve out of the 17 National Rugby Teams have betting partnerships, there’s currently a big push to ban gambling advertisements and jersey sponsors, which would have a huge impact on the financial structure of Australian rugby due to the collapse of existing gambling sponsorship deals.
