Birmingham City, the English soccer side part-owned by Tom Brady, has announced that the gambling platform Coral will be the club’s new shirt sponsor. The deal comes as English Premier League (EPL) clubs are now prohibited from displaying gambling sponsors on the front of shirts this season.
Coral is one of the UK’s most prominent betting brands and part of the Entain group. Entain also owns 50% of BetMGM, the online gambling arm of MGM Resorts. Brady serves as a brand ambassador for BetMGM.
Coral’s First Shirt Deal in 100-Year History
Despite being one of the UK’s oldest betting brands, founded in 1926, Coral has never appeared on the front of a soccer side’s shirt before. The company has served as Birmingham’s sponsor for the past two seasons, but did not appear on the team’s shirt.
“We are very proud of the partnership we have developed with Birmingham City Football Club and delighted to take this relationship to the next level,” said Bejay Patel, Managing Director at Entain in the UK and Ireland, in a press release.
“This is the first time in Coral’s history that we have become a front-of-shirt football sponsor, and who better to do that with than Blues, a club that shares our long history and our passion in putting fans first.”
EPL Ban Can Benefit Championship Clubs
The EPL voted to ban front-of-shirt gambling sponsors from this season. Despite the self-imposed restriction, clubs continue to sign deals promoting betting, with many clubs putting the brands on their shirt sleeves.
These deals, however, are less lucrative than the front-of-shirt sponsorships that have dominated the league in recent years. In total, 11 of the 20 clubs had gambling companies on the front of their shirts last season.
Increasingly, gambling companies may look to the Championship (the second tier of English football) for sponsorship opportunities. This may help somewhat reduce the financial gap between the two divisions. Typically, an EPL side earns around £120 million ($160 million) more than a Championship side.
Seven of the 24 Championship clubs will have gambling sponsors on the front of their shirts for the upcoming season. Betting brand Midnite will appear on three shirts after signing deals with Wolverhampton, Sheffield United, and Middlesbrough.
Coral Owner Calls for Ban on Unlicensed Sponsors
The companies appearing on Championship shirts are all licensed in the UK. In addition to Midnite and Coral, Bet365 (Stoke), Mr.Q (QPR), and Boylesports (West Ham) have secured shirt sponsorship deals. The latter was able to extend its deal as West Ham dropped down from the EPL.
However, in the EPL, many clubs have partnerships with gambling companies that do not hold UK licenses. For example, Everton extended its deal with Stake, which will appear on the club’s sleeve this season.
Entain has called for the UK to implement rules to prohibit unlicensed companies from sponsoring clubs or appearing in advertising during matches.
“Premier League clubs are being sponsored by criminal gambling firms,” Entain CEO Stella David wrote in a press release in May. “The Independent Football Regulator can stop this tomorrow by simply acknowledging that unlicensed gambling companies targeting UK customers through English football are breaking the law – plain and simple.”
The government announced earlier this month that it would launch a consultation on unlicensed sponsors, with a possible ban coming into force next season.
Entain said it welcomes the consultation, but urged the EPL to implement a voluntary ban on sponsorship and advertising by all unlicensed operators, beginning with LED perimeter boards, ahead of the 2026-27 season.
With Everton only recently signing its extended deal with Stake, clubs look unlikely to agree to such a ban. Eight other EPL clubs have deals with 8xbet despite the gambling platform not holding a UK license.
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Birmingham City, the English soccer side part-owned by Tom Brady, has announced that the gambling platform Coral will be the club’s new shirt sponsor. The deal comes as English Premier League (EPL) clubs are now prohibited from displaying gambling sponsors on the front of shirts this season. Coral is one of the UK’s most prominent
The post Tom Brady’s Birmingham City Signs Coral Deal as Championship Clubs Benefit From EPL Ban appeared first on CasinoBeats.