Betfair and bet365 combine for Aston Villa sponsorship deal

Betfair and Bet365 and have become the latest top-tier operators to sign partnerships with a Premier League football club after sealing a deal to become the official betting partners of Aston Villa.

Under the terms of the deal the two operators will have co-exclusive rights with the West Midlands-based club from the start of the 2015-16 season, including a presence on Villa Park’s LED screens and across interview backdrops with other club sponsors.

“Commercially the club has two aims – we want to partner with good brands that will activate extensively and we want to increase our commercial revenues so we can compete with the best on the pitch,” Charlie Wijeratna, Aston Villa’s chief commercial officer, said.

Meanwhile, fellow West Midlands-based club West Bromwich Albion announced its new principal sponsor today with sports betting and casino operator TLCBET set to sponsor the team’s home and away shirts for the forthcoming season.

Asia-focused TLCBET was recently renamed from TLC178 and is estimated to have paid between £1.5m and £2.5m to secure the deal based on West Brom’s agreement with previous sponsor Intuit QuickBooks.

“Following our success in the Far East, this deal amplifies our ambitions to put the TLCBET brand onto the global stage,” Mike Chong, brand director of TLCBET, said.

“This collaboration will be mutually beneficial and we are confident that we can help promote West Bromwich Albion to our customers in China,” he added.

Today’s news follows a raft of deals between online betting firms and Premier League clubs in recent weeks including yesterday’s announcement that Mansion Group had signed a two-year deal with AFC Bournemouth to become its new shirt sponsor.

Last month Dafabet was named the official sponsor of Sunderland AFC, while fellow Asia-facing operator 12BET also struck a betting partnership deal with Swansea City just a month after relaunching its sportsbook in the UK.