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Stake.com is in discussions with Chelsea FC to become the top-division side’s new shirt sponsor, according to a report from SportBusiness.
Despite the recent decision of a league-wide ban on front-of-shirt gambling sponsors, the five-time Premier League champions are considering the Australian-Curaçaoan online casino as a potential partner after a three-year deal with mobile network Three expires.
The news comes following reports of a failed agreement with a crypto company that fell through at the last minute.
However, Stake would only be able to hold a presence on the front of Chelsea’s shirt until 2025. The company is reportedly offering significantly more money than Allianz to seal the deal, matching the £40m a year deal that Three paid out for previously.
The figure is also a lot more than what Stake currently pays Everton FC in its current £10m-a-year deal, which will conclude before the 2025-26 season, when the gambling sponsorship ban will be enacted.
The ban came partially down to pressures mounting from the government, which has recently published its Gambling Act reform White Paper, and more vocal critics who state football and gambling’s entrenched relationship is having a negative effect on viewers and resulting in gambling harm.
The league ban on gambling sponsorships only applies to bans on the front of shirts, therefore sleeve sponsorships are still in-play for gambling/betting companies.
The deal will now be the first sponsorship change under the new ownership after Todd Boehly took over the club with one year left to run on the deal with Three.
