Dafabet seals Aston Villa sponsorship
Asian online betting operator will appear on Premier League club's home and away shirts for two years
Asian egaming operator Dafabet has signed a two-year sponsorship deal to become the official sponsor of English Premier League club Aston Villa.
The agreement will see the Dafabet logo will feature on the home and away Aston Villa shirts as well as a range of other unspecified sponsorship opportunities. Last season the AsianLogic-owned brand, which offers sports betting, casino and poker, was the international betting partner for Everton and the West Bromwich Albion.
Dimitris Karatzas, managing director of online betting and gaming at AsianBGE, said the operator has seen the “increased potential” of becoming an official club sponsor of a Premier League club.
“It’s a very significant and proud moment for us to form such a partnership with Aston Villa, a side steeped in tradition,” Karatzas said. “We are delighted to see Dafabet on the front of such a well-recognised shirt and to be associated with a club respected throughout the footballing world.”
Aston Villa chief executive Paul Faulkner described the deal as “a positive partnership for the club”. He said that he was “looking forward to working together with Dafabet as we continue to build and move the club forward.”
The company follows in the footsteps on several other betting operators sponsoring high profile football teams. Last year Paddy Power agreed a deal with Everton to become its official online betting partner for the UK and Ireland, while also penning a two-year deal with Manchester City.
Meanwhile in March Gibraltar-licensed operator 32Red agreed to forego the final year of its shirt sponsorship deal with League Cup winning football club Swansea City. The agreement was first announced in 2009, before being extended for three years in 2011, however the operator has agreed to end the deal a year early in exchange for a sum of £950,000, a sum which CEO Ed Ware told eGaming Review “…was impossible for us to refuse.”
The operator has since agreed deals to sponsor Football League clubs Crawley Town and Newport County.