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

This edition of Sponsor Spotlight stretches all across from the European football stands to some of the biggest sporting stadiums in North America.

BOYLE Sports ventures into the Forest

There seems to be no end in sight for the frenzy of new gambling sponsorship deals in the Premier League, albeit constrained to some extent due to this season’s voluntary front-of-shirt ban of gambling logos.

The latest to bag a vital financial stream is Nottingham Forest, which now lists BOYLE Sports as its official betting partner.

“This partnership marks another important step in our commitment to English football,” said Liam McKee, Head of Sponsorship at BOYLE Sports, hinting at the operator’s rapid sponsorship spree over the last few months.

Besides Nottingham Forest, BOYLE Sports is also currently partnered with Leeds United and West Ham. 

Additionally, the gambling firm went on a rather unique marketing path just before the start of this Premier League season, becoming the title sponsor of a pre-season friendly between Leeds United and Manchester United.

Nottingham Forest partners with BOYLE Sports as Premier League gambling deals continue 

Foreign copycats enter Italy football

It is no secret that Italy has some of the strictest gambling advertising rules in Europe. These include a blanket ban on any type of marketing in football that ties directly to a gambling platform.

Therefore, instead of directly advertising their gambling product, licensed operators have long been using their infotainment websites to gain visibility on the Italian football pitch. Betsson, for example, uses its betsson.sport website.

It was only a matter of time before unlicensed companies cracked the code, and it’s actually a surprise it took that long – the Dignity Decree against marketing has been around since 2018.

The first company to do so is Kaiyun Sports, which has entered into a partnership with Serie A team Lazio and whose kaiynsports.news branding will appear on the men’s first team matchday jersey sleeves.

An SS Lazio statement read: “SS Lazio and kaiyunsports.news are delighted to launch this collaboration and create new engagement opportunities for football fans internationally.”

Lazio pens Kaiyun Sports deal after Polymarket partnership collapses

Kalshi hits first MLB home run

Prediction markets platform Kalshi has broken new grounds in sports by entering its first-ever baseball sponsorship not with one, but five Major League Baseball teams.

The LA Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, San Diego Padres, and San Francisco Giants now all list Kalshi as their official predictions partner, giving the brand free real estate on some of the most iconic baseball venues in the world – such as the Dodger Stadium.

Kalshi’s strategy here is certainly not one that merely tests out what works. The platform reported baseball trading volume significantly increasing by 36 times YoY, signalling a rapidly growing dedicated baseball fanbase migrating to the predictions operator.

Spotlight rankings: Who’s standing out?

1. Kaiyun/Lazio

Not to give an unlicensed operator’s infotainment website unnecessary attention, but this has the biggest potential to change the marketing landscape on today’s list.

As mentioned earlier, regulated operators have been adapting to the strict marketing rulebook in Italy for almost a decade now. Good for the licensed sector – it shows responsibility and compliance. 

But it appears that all this work will now be readily copy and pasted by foreign competitors that have no work being there in the first place.

2. Kalshi/MLB

Kalshi’s big, so is the MLB. One provides the action, the other brings you closer to it. The fact that Kalshi has reported baseball trading multiplying 36 times in just one year shows just how much appetite there is for both, so why not bring the masses what they want?

One thing is for sure, bagging five MLB teams as partners on your first entry into the league puts the commercial power of prediction markets on display, which so far seems like it is only going to grow – at least until the current US cabinet holds the reins.

3. BOYLE/Nottingham Forest

BOYLE Sports is certainly one of the most active gambling brands during this football season. Deals like its latest one with Nottingham Forest can only reassure both teams and willing sponsors alike that there are still plenty of marketing opportunities hiding within the highest level of the English football pyramid.