Posted by It’s fair to say that Welsh rugby is in a position where beggars can’t be choosers. On-the-field it’s a struggle, off-the-field it’s almost complete disarray with no clear direction over what might happen in the next two years, let alone in the medium or long-term.
There’s a lot of focus on the impact that has on the players and coaches, not unfairly of course, but perhaps overlooked is the knock-on effect on staff away from the rugby department. The community foundations, hospitality, marketing, ticket office, communications and, most notably for this piece, the commercial bods.
That isn’t just to say that it’s challenging on a job security basis under the cloud of uncertainty that exists over Welsh rugby currently, but it’s also a tough task to carry out on a day-to-day basis, attempting to drum up sponsorship for a sporting product that is struggling to compete at the business end of any competition.
In an environment like that it would be foolish to turn down any offer of sponsorship, and so it wasn’t necessarily a surprise when Cardiff Rugby announced that DragonBet had come on board as a sponsor ahead of the 2026/27 campaign.
Partnerships with betting companies have been commonplace in football for many years now. Last season it was estimated that gambling firms were worth over £100m in front of shirt sponsorships for Premier League teams, while SkyBet’s branding across the Football League competitions is worth £40m per year. Add in smaller partnerships and the true total figure is a staggering amount.
Rugby Union, meanwhile, has largely avoided primary sponsorships with betting companies and when they have been utilised it has tended to be with the smaller firms. QuinnBet are displayed on the shorts of the Ospreys and LeoVegas take up a similar spot for Leicester Tigers, while the English PREM is partnered with BetUK, for example.
However, that could be about to change as the Premier League begin to voluntarily avoid front of shirt betting sponsorships from this season, although they are still permitted on shirt sleeves, training kits and around stadiums. It’s possible that some of the companies may look to other sports for the exposure that comes with being a principal partner.
Now I would much rather Cardiff avoid gambling sponsorships altogether. A fair response to that would be that there has never been a backlash against alcohol sponsorships which is effectively advertising something akin to a drug. I’d also be in favour of turning down those alcohol sponsorships too, as it goes.
For me though there is something worse about the gambling sponsorships. Alcohol doesn’t hide that it is a chemical and can build dependency quickly, users consume it at their own risk, but gambling feels more sinister in how it advertises the wins you can enjoy and the money you can make when ultimately the saying “the house always wins” exists for a reason.
That’s not to say DragonBet are some nefarious organisation, they are a fully licensed and regulated firm, and this isn’t a criticism of them or the club necessarily. Indeed, if there has to be a gambling sponsor then to have a local Welsh bookies on board is preferable at least.
What this is is a warning about some of the gambling firms that could switch across from football due to the Premier League front of shirt ban. Last season Burnley, Bournemouth, Fulham and Wolves all displayed the logos of betting companies that are not licensed to operate in Great Britain.
The parent company of the respective sponsors, TGP Europe, surrendered its British licence after an investigation found it had failed to “carry out sufficient checks on business partners” and breached “anti-money laundering rules”. These are not the sort of partners that Cardiff Rugby should be associating with no matter what the operating circumstances of the club are.
And this is also to reiterate that the commitment from Cardiff and DragonBet to “work together on community and charitable initiatives, often with a focus on awareness and responsible gambling, as part of the wider partnership”will be vitally important to ensuring the partnership can have a positive outcome beyond the financials.
While I’m not naive enough to expect the Blue & Blacks to be turning down this sort of sponsorship, the hope is that it doesn’t snowball into something that could have a serious impact on the reputation of the club. Professional sport is a cut throat world, but it’s no reason to abandon morals completely.
Hopefully Cardiff continue to tread that narrow line carefully.
Cardiff Rugby Life 