Sky Bet pens five-year extension to EFL deal with new commitments to safer gambling
Operator to retain title rights and pour funding into community schemes and club coffers until 2029
Sky Bet has penned a five-year extension to its partnership with the English Football League (EFL) until the end of the 2028-29 season.
The duo initially partnered in 2013 and this new extension will feature a raft of new commitments from the Flutter Entertainment-owned operator.
The deal will see Sky Bet invest £1m per season and £6m in total into a community fund held by the EFL for investment in communities across England and Wales.
The extension represents a 50% increase in the rights fee from Sky Bet, which will significantly boost EFL clubs’ respective financial position.
Sky Bet and the EFL also confirmed the agreement of a new Memorandum of Understanding that will involve a collaborative approach to furthering the development of safer gambling strategies.
Sky Bet has agreed not to actively market itself or its product in family designated areas of stadiums or advertise to young fans.
The firm will also fund an education programme across the EFL’s 72 clubs that will focus on the potential dangers of gambling.
Finally, the EFL will carve out a portion of its central inventory to promote safer gambling messaging and support Sky Bet’s safer gambling campaigns.
The duo have also confirmed they will share insight from the partnership with the UK government, other sports and sector stakeholders to help buildout a new sports sponsorship code of conduct.
Sky Bet will retain its position as the official title partner of the Sky Bet EFL and Sky Bet Play-Offs on a worldwide basis.
The firm will also hold the rights to award manager, player and goal of the month awards.
Steve Birch, Sky Bet chief commercial officer, said: “I’m extremely proud of Sky Bet’s ongoing partnership with the EFL and delighted to have reached today’s agreement.
“Football is central to who we are and it’s great to be able to support the game and provide investment for clubs across the pyramid.
“We are absolutely committed to safer gambling, and I’m delighted that our partnership with the EFL shows how responsible betting and gaming operators and sporting organisations can work together to promote safer gambling and tackle the issue of gambling harm,” he added.
Trevor Birch, EFL CEO, said: “The government’s recent gambling white paper highlighted the social responsibility measures that have accompanied our partnership with Sky Bet as being an example of good practice for the wider sports sector to learn from, and we will look to deepen our commitment to the promotion of safer gambling as part of this extension.
“On behalf of our clubs, we thank Sky Bet for its ongoing support to English football and we look forward to seeing our much-loved competition develop yet further with the additional certainty this investment provides.”