Premier League football club Everton has signed a club-record deal with cryptocurrency casino operator Stake.com, making Stake the club’s front-of-shirt partner.
Stake.com branding will feature on front of Everton’s men’s and women’s playing shirts. In addition, the operator’s logos will appear on screens at men’s stadium Goodison Park and women’s stadium Finch Farm, as well as appearing on Everton’s digital platforms.
Stake.com is known for its cryptocurrency offering, though in Great Britain – where cryptocurrency gambling is not permitted by the Gaambling Commission – it operates on a white label licence held by TGP Europe, which also has deals with a number of other Premier League sponsors.
The operator has signed a number of other major sponsorship agreements of late, including brand ambassador deals with former Manchester City striker Sergio Agüero and Canadian rapper Drake. Last year, the operator agreed a multi-year deal with Watford FC.
“Stake.com is an ambitious organisation with impressive growth plans and we’re all very excited to enter into a partnership with them at this stage in their journey,” Everton chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale said.
She added that the record deal was secured thanks to the club’s newly created revenue team, which Everton said took a “clear focus on delivering an uplift in revenue across all of the club’s commercial assets”.
“My talented colleagues in our new revenue team have made excellent progress in recent months and worked tirelessly to secure what is the biggest main partnership deal in the club’s history – I’d like to congratulate them on this achievement and, on behalf of everyone at the Club, express my gratitude to Stake.com for choosing Everton as a long-term partner,” she said.
“Finally, I am pleased to say that we have already been working together with Stake.com on some exciting activities and content for our local and international supporters and we look forward to sharing more detail on these plans soon.”
Akhil Sarin, head of acquisition for Stake.com, said Everton’s ambitions mirrored those of the operator.
“We are incredibly proud to be partnering with Everton, a club steeped in tradition and with a passionate and loyal fanbase respected the world over,” Sarin said. “Everton is a club that perfectly complements our own growth ambitions as we seek to expand our presence globally and strengthen our top-tier sports sponsorship portfolio.
“It’s a huge honour for everyone at Stake.com to be joining the Everton family and playing our part in supporting the club in the transition to the new stadium. We look forward to celebrating this most exciting chapter in the club’s history with Evertonians everywhere.”
Everton had a deal in place with sports betting operator Sportpesa from 2017 until 2020. The deal was set to last until 2022, but the club terminated it early.
Everton did not disclose the reasons behind the decision to end the partnership early, but it did say it had been taken “following a comprehensive review by the club of its commercial strategy in line with its vision and future growth plans”.
The future of front-of-shirt football sponsorships is one area under examination in the review of the 2005 Gambling Act, with many reports suggesting they may be banned following the review.
