Aston Villa have reportedly struck a sponsorship deal with Greek betting firm Betano, who will become the club’s front-of-shirt sponsors.
The Telegraph reports that a £40million deal has been struck, which will see the gambling firm present on Villa’s famous claret and blue strip for the following two seasons.
At £20million a season, it’s the most lucrative front-of-shirt sponsor in the club’s history. Yet, the Villa Park decision-makers could have missed a trick.
Aston Villa could have made off-the-field blunder
In April 2023, the Premier League announced that it was banning clubs from displaying gambling sponsorship on their match-day shirts.
Before Villa’s recent agreement, eight clubs had front-of-shirt agreements estimated to be worth £60million. Come the start of the 2026/27 season, no gambling sponsors will be permitted, giving clubs two years to find new agreements.
Villa had an opportunity to steal a yard on the eight clubs that will be searching for new commercial ties in the coming years. Instead, the two-year agreement with Betano could now see longer-term opportunities disappear.
PSR and FFP could have played a significant part in Villa’s desire to reach the Betano agreement. Other avenues may have been explored had the Villans not been under the microscope.
Richard Keys shares Aston Villa shirt agreement stance
Outspoken BeIN Sports host Richard Keys also shared his view on Villa’s new shirt sponsorship and questioned why the club used a gambling firm.
In his weekly blog, the 66-year-old said: “Of course, Villa aren’t alone in selling their shirt to a gambling company. At the last count I think nine PL clubs had,” he said.
He added: “Yet they’ve all agreed a voluntary ban on gambling sponsors for 2026/27. Why? Why bother? It’s a smoke and mirrors exercise isn’t it in order to avoid legislation. Clearly none of them really cares about the damage gambling does to peoples lives. As ever – money talks – to the tune of £40m/year in Villa’s case.”
It’s hard to agree with Keys too often, but he does have a point here. Aston Villa could have missed the boat by not exploring a less lucrative deal that would’ve been able to stand the test of the legislation that’s on the horizon.
