Kieran Maguire: West Ham could sign £10m-a-year crypto deal after news from Whitehall
West Ham could sign a deal with a cryptocurrency firm in response to a possible ban on gambling sponsorship on football shirts.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the Hammers’ deal with global bookmaker Betway.
West Ham have been partnered with Betway since 2015 and the deal, which football.london reports is worth £10million-a-year, runs until 2025.
But as relayed by BBC Sport last Friday (20 May), a ban on gambling sponsorship on football shirts has been proposed in a draft white paper.
The industry’s relationship with football has been under review by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport for some time.
Maguire, however, argues that West Ham could strike a deal with a crypto company if the motion passes through Whitehall.
“There are marginal advantages of having a sponsor from the gambling industry,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“But there is a fair chance that clubs will move to crypto sponsorship. We have already seen Chelsea move to partner with WhaleFin in terms of a sleeve sponsorship deal.
“We will move from one form of gambling to another, I expect. And you would anticipate that there won’t be much of a step down in value, if indeed there is any step down at all.”
West Ham posted a £26.9m loss in their 2020-21 financial results.
They earned £19.4m in commercial income over the same period.
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