Betting brand agrees sponsorship deal with top SA soccer competition

South Africa’s Premier Soccer League (PSL) has reached a sponsorship deal with Betway, an online sports and gaming brand, to be the premier division’s new title sponsor. It is henceforth known as the Betway Premiership.

The agreement comes in the wake of a decision by pan-African broadcaster DStv to end its sponsorship with the PSL a year earlier than planned. Multichoice, the company that owns DStv, has been hit by heavy financial losses in recent years.

Previous title sponsors of the league were banking and financial services company Absa, and beer brand Castle Larger.

Betway is already a cricket and rugby sponsor in South Africa. Betway’s Laurence Michel says “the PSL aligns with our values as a brand that commonly champions great South African success stories”.

He adds: “We are so excited by what this partnership will do for football fans in South Africa. As a brand, we are known globally for our sponsorships of the world’s biggest clubs and tournaments and that experience is going to play a huge part in driving the PSL forward.”

Says Dr Irvin Khoza, Chairman of the Premier Soccer League: “Betway’s energy and enthusiasm will have immediate impact across all facets of the game and, on behalf of the PSL, I am proud to welcome them on board as title sponsor and partner.”

Sponsorship deals with betting brands increasingly controversial in soccer

Sponsorship by betting companies is becoming increasingly controversial in soccer. The English Premier League, for example, is being criticised for having 11 clubs with betting brands as shirt sponsors for the upcoming season.

The Big Step, a UK campaign to end all gambling advertising and sponsorship in football, recently accused EPL clubs of “blindly” signing “desperate deals for a few extra quid”.

“Premier League clubs must know that gambling harms are a serious public health issue that destroys many lives in their communities and around the world,” The Big Step stated.

A ban on gambling-related front-of-shirt sponsors is to be introduced for the English Premier League’s 2026-27 season.

Last week, the EPL, together with the Football Association, English Football League and Women’s Super League, released a code of conduct for gambling deals.

According to a report in the London-based The Guardian newspaper, they list four key principles behind their approach – protection, social responsibility, reinvestment and integrity – but say the main aim is to ensure gambling sponsorships are responsible and “limit the reach to children and those at risk of gambling-related harm”.