How the Betting Industry Became Part of Football Culture

Betting and football are part of the same world.

They’ve combined together to create a thriving industry, with GeoPoll reporting that 76.53% of bettors in Africa have placed bets on football, which is officially the crowd-favorite sport. This is something that adults of all ages, young and old, are now doing for fun. They like betting on the Premier League, African Football League, and all of the major tournaments when they’re taking place, such as this year’s Copa America. There’s some big money involved, too, with huge stacks of cash being bet every season. So, this leads to the obvious question: how has the betting industry become such an integral (and much-loved) part of football culture?

It didn’t happen by accident. The relationship between football and gambling has been alive since the 1920s and gone from strength-to-strength ever since, super-charged by advertising campaigns from the leading sports betting companies. The explosion of internet gambling over the past decade has also led to the football betting industry becoming the most valuable of all the sports, with several other key factors also contributing to its growth.

How Football Betting Became Popular

Over the past decade, football betting has reached new heights. Bet365, Sky Bet, BetVictor, Unibet, 1xBet, and Betway are some of the big brand names that have taken over the industry, with all of them being available in website and app form. There are plenty of other names that could be mentioned, too, but people are most interested to know the factors behind how these companies have reached the top of their game and effectively cornered off the market. These are the facts.

1. The Rise of Low Minimum Deposit Sports Betting Sites

In the modern era, if you want to bet on football, you don’t need lots of money. This is because of low minimum deposit sports betting sites, where you’re only required to deposit a low amount of money to get started. Naturally, this is something that’s allowed football fans on a budget to enter the gambling world and the trend has stuck ever since. Some betting sites let you deposit from just £1, so it’s no surprise that football fans are loving them. After all, for just a small amount of money, you can place bets on your favorite teams and (potentially) gain plenty of rewards back, no matter your experience level.

2. Exciting Betting Markets

Back in the old times, football betting markets were very limited. Essentially, you could bet on which team you thought was going to win and nothing else. Now, though, the football betting world has changed. There are literally hundreds of different betting markets to pick from, including ‘First Goal Scorer’, ‘Total Corners’, and ‘Final Score’. If you have a good level of football knowledge and an instinct for placing the right bets, there are so many opportunities available to you through these different markets. For example, if you’re a Manchester United fan, you might start to experiment with betting markets like ‘First Team to Score’, where you could pick and choose games where you think Manchester United will be the first team to take the lead.

3. Advertising Spend by Betting Companies

Betting companies spend huge amounts of money on their advertising — this isn’t a secret. Whether you’re watching football on TV or scrolling through social media, there’s a pretty strong chance you’re going to see a gambling ad. Recently, Bloomberg reported that spending by sports betting companies peaked at $1.4 billion in 2022, which was just after the COVID-19 pandemic, a time period when online sports betting was booming due to the fact that more people were stuck at home.

4. Football Betting Sponsorship Deals

So many of today’s popular football teams have launched official sponsorship deals with betting companies. In the Premier League alone, 7 out of the 20 teams last season had a gambling sponsor, including Aston Villa (BK8), Everton (Stake.com), and Fulham (Sbotop). This is also the case across most of the world’s other leading football leagues, with betting sponsorships generating millions in revenue for clubs. There’s even a belief amongst some experts that the removal of betting sponsorships would lead to a temporary financial collapse in the footballing world, which is why these types of sponsors are highly unlikely to ever be banned.

5. Availability and No Limitations

Football’s yearly calendar is stacked with different leagues, tournaments, and other events. What this means is that (no matter what time of year it is) there’s a football event readily available to bet on with no limitations. When something as fun as sports betting is available all of the time, it naturally leads to high levels of engagement, which is why many football betting fans are constantly planning their next bet. If football seasons were short, this wouldn’t be the case. However, football is around-the-clock and never stops, which has allowed the football betting industry to thrive.

Is Football Betting Here to Stay?

Football betting is here to stay. It’s now a solidified part of fan culture, almost like an immovable object. Every matchday weekend, millions of fans around the world, from Africa to Europe, grab their phones to place bets. These bets include single bets, accumulators, and more, which are all part of the modern football betting experience. This is something that you can do, too, but you’ll need to be above the legal gambling age and join an officially licensed betting site to get started. It’s also recommended that you look out for special bonus offers and odds boosts so that you can truly get the most out of your own personal betting experience.