Sports sponsorships in the global betting and gaming industry never sleep. This week alone has already produced some major deals, which will be seen by millions of sports fans around the world.

This edition of Sponsor Spotlight looks at a new direction for Stake, an old partnership restructured for the Premier League, and a brand fully committed to the NFL.

A first for Stake in boxing

Stake has entered the boxing ambassador realm for the first time by signing Brazilian female boxer Jully “Poca” de Oliveira as its latest brand representative.

The signing further expands the crypto casino’s presence in fighting sports, which already includes a long list of mixed martial arts fighters predominantly in the UFC, with fighters like Israel Adesanya, Alex Pereira, and Valentina Shevchenko.

Oliveira will represent Stake at her second professional boxing bout this Friday 21 August, coming off a winning debut earlier in June.

Hollywoodbets remains faithful to Brentford FC

Long-term Brentford FC partner Hollywoodbets will continue to support the club through the Premier League’s new gambling sponsorship era.

With new rules forbidding the brand to adorn the Bees’ matchgame front-of-shirt kits, the South African brand will now transition into being Brentford FC’s official club betting partner – extending their seven-year commercial by five additional seasons.

Fans will be kept close to their favourite club through a number of in-stadium activations, which Hollywoodbets says still hold significant value for the betting brand.

Fanatics deepens ties with the NFL

Fanatics Betting and Gaming has secured a non-exclusive sportsbook and casino partnership with the NFL ahead of the new season.

The multi-year partnership includes both the Fanatics Sportsbook and the Fanatics Casino brands as NFL partners, with Fanatics securing the rights to utilise NFL’s major portfolio of intellectual properties.

With Fanatics’ apparel and merchandise division already working with the NFL, the new deal elevates the commercial opportunities ahead of both partners even further, giving Fanatics a boost as it tries to challenge heavyweights DraftKings and FanDuel. 

Spotlight rankings: Who’s standing out?

1. Stake/Poca

While having a solid amateur fighting record, Poca is just stepping into the professional boxing ring. Her convincing debut win has certainly swayed Stake into her corner, but she still has a long way to go until she becomes a fighter of legendary status like most of Stake’s other combat ambassadors are. Certainly one to look out for.

2. Hollywood Bets/Brentford FC

It was always going to be a close match-up between our second and third place today if we were going off just by global league visibility. But it’s a different story when it comes to the support behind individual teams. 

Brentford FC is about to enter its sixth consecutive season in the top tier of English football. Hollywoodbets has played a major part in that, given it partnered with the Bees when they got promoted for the first time in 74 years back in 2021. 

It’s worked out for everyone involved so far, so now they need to keep that momentum going.

3. Fanatics/NFL

As a US-facing brand, Fanatics holds a small percentage of the local sports betting market share when compared to the massive top two DraftKings and FanDuel. Still, managing to outmanoeuvre the two giants in signing a multi-year deal with the NFL is evidence that Fanatics is a challenger that cannot be underestimated.