It has been reported that Chelsea Football Club is inadvanced talks with the online casino Stake for a one-year shirt sponsorship deal. However, this has been met with some controversy after a league-wide ban on gambling site shirt sponsorships was announced to start in the 2025 – 2026 season.
The Reported New Sponsorship Deal Between Chelsea FC and Stake
Chelsea FC currently has a sponsorship deal with the mobile network provider Three, but this is coming to an end shortly and the club has been on the hunt for a new sponsorship partner to take its place.
It is being reported that the club is in extensive talks with the online casino company Stake, to sign a one-year shirt sponsorship deal. Stake is estimated to be worth £40 million and offers a range of online slots, table games, live casino games and sports betting. It specialises in cryptocurrency gambling which allows players to make bets with popular cryptocurrencies as well as using standard payment methods such as Visa debit, Skrill and Neteller.
Controversy With This New Deal
While many are excited about this new sponsorship deal between Chelsea FC and Stake, there are some who are opposed. There is an upcoming league-wide ban on gambling sponsorships that is set to be introduced in time for the 2025 – 2026 season and so many feel that the club should not be engaging in more casino sponsorship deals at this time.
The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust revealed in their study of 3,297 Chelsea fans, that 77% disagreed or strongly disagreed with this new sponsorship decision as it would take away from all of the good charity work that the club was doing in tackling gambling addiction.
The trust reiterated that they understand the club’s desire to maximise its revenue streams, however, they do not think that this should overtake the club’s values.
Chelsea FC’s Struggle to Obtain New Sponsor
While it looks like the advanced talks between Chelsea FC and Stake will go ahead, the club has had several other sponsorship offers break down.
Originally, the club was set to sign a deal with Paramount+, the American streaming service, which would have been a hugely lucrative deal for Chelsea. However, this sponsorship deal was not approved by the league as they were concerned that it would upset the current TV rights holders.
Other sponsorship deals that were reported to have failed were with the insurance company Allianz and a cryptocurrency business.
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