Real Madrid has announced a two-year partnership with VERSUSbet, a sports betting and online casino brand subsidiary of Grupo Orenes.
This agreement covers all of Europe, excluding Spain, and was presented by Emilio Butragueño, Real Madrid’s Director of Institutional Relations, alongside Javier López Cerrón, CEO of Grupo Orenes.
López Cerrón stated: “For us, this is a very significant milestone. At VERSUSbet we always want to be close to the best and Real Madrid is one of the most important clubs in the history of international sport, an institution with whom we want to share great successes. This agreement is a cornerstone for our international expansion.”
While the club has not disclosed further information regarding the partnership, it’s clear that VERSUSbet stands to gain significant exposure from collaborating with a La Liga team that consistently ranks as the most valuable football brand in the world.
The deal also draws parallels to Sevilla‘s agreement with Grupo Orenes in July, a deal that enables VERSUSbet to utilise the club’s intellectual property and image rights to promote the bookmaker among its hospitality customers throughout Latin America.
Furthermore, this partnership aims to enhance Sevilla’s presence in key Latin American countries, thereby expanding its base of supporters.
Football clubs often collaborate with betting brands to expand their global reach. For instance, Aston Villa recently partnered with Betano to target South America, while German club VfB Stuttgart struck a deal with LuckyBlock Casino earlier this year to broaden its presence in Asia.
Clubs aren’t the only ones taking advantage of the reach of gambling companies, however. In August, La Liga partnered with Luckia, naming the brand its gaming and entertainment sponsor in a three-year deal.
Gambling and football have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship for decades, however, there are impending regulations that may alter this dynamic. Beginning with the 2026/27 season, Premier League clubs will be prohibited from featuring betting firms as front-of-shirt sponsors.
This significant change stems from concerns raised by supporters regarding the rising prevalence of betting advertising in the sport.
La Liga, as well as the Italian Serie A league, opted for the ban on gambling front-of-shirt sponsorship for some time now, with gaming and betting companies diverting to more off-the-field approaches to partner with its brands.
Last month, a report from the University of Bristol found that Premier League fans are encountering nearly three times more gambling advertising compared to the previous season.
The gambling sector offers clubs a lot of money for sponsorship deals, and it will be interesting to see how clubs deal with this loss of revenue.
For instance, the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) recorded a turnover of £44.3m, marking the highest amount in the league’s history. In an announcement, the league attributed a lot of this record to its deal with UK sportsbook William Hill.
Neil Doncaster, SPFL Group Chief Executive, said: “In recent months, we’ve agreed a major new title sponsorship deal with William Hill, as well as a new TV contract with Premier Sports.
“The SPFL has just reported significantly higher attendances per capita than any other European league in a new UEFA report, and whilst we’ll never be complacent, these results give us a strong foundation upon which to further improve our performance.”
