Kaizen Gaming’s Betano brand has been announced as the new principal partner of Aston Villa, becoming the club’s front-of-shirt sponsor.
Aston Villa are currently fourth in the Premier League and into the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League. The club will display the Betano logo on their shirts from the 2024-25 season, with a two-year deal currently agreed.
Betano’s deal with the Midlands club comes after it announced sponsorships of the Euro 2024 and Copa America 2024 tournaments. Both of these get under way in June.
Aston Villa’s president of business operations Chris Heck lauded the exciting potential of the deal.
Heck said: “Aston Villa and Betano share a commitment to excellence. We look forward to achieving great success together on and off the pitch. This collaboration marks an exciting chapter for both our organisations.”
George Daskalakis, Kaizen Gaming founder and chief executive, added: “Aston Villa’s sensational on-field success in the Premier League along with their return to European football matches Betano’s own growth and continuing accomplishments.”
Betano making its UK mark with Aston Villa deal
Betano’s new principal partner sponsorship of Aston Villa comes after the brand announced its launch in the UK. It will do this via a partnership between Kaizen Gaming and provider BVGroup.
Betano is expected to launch in the UK ahead of Euro 2024, held in Germany. The brand is already established Europe, Africa and the Americas.
Julio Iglesias Hernando, chief commercial officer of Kaizen, said: “It is a challenge to enter one of the largest regulated online gaming markets in the world.
“To ensure a successful entry, you need excellent partners. A bit like competing in the Premier League. Finding the right partner has been a top priority for us. This is exactly what we did with the well-established and reputable BVGroup. We are confident that our partnership in the UK will be a success.”
Front-of-shirt sponsors to be banned from 2026
In April 2023, it was announced that Premier League clubs had agreed to stop accepting sponsorship by gambling companies for the front of team shirts.
However, that ban isn’t set to come in until ahead of the 2026-27 season. Until then, English top-flight clubs such as Aston Villa are free to advertise gambling companies on the front of their shirts.
Villa came into criticism from their own supporters’ trust in June last year when, following the announcement of the future sponsorship ban, the club announced a principal partnership with BK8.
The Aston Villa Supporters’ Trust labelled the move a “cynical last-minute attempt” to reap the financial rewards of gambling sponsorships, ignoring the potentially devastating impacts of gambling harms.