‘You need to sell it’ – Nottingham Forest set for £8m windfall after deal agreed
Nottingham Forest are set to land an £8million windfall after a deal has been agreed at the City Ground.
The Premier League side initially launched their new shirts last month without a front-of-shirt partner.
However, Forest confirmed on 5 August Bally’s Corporation’s logo will feature on the club’s front of shirts for the upcoming season.
The American betting company, which was founded in 2004, is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island.
Bally’s replaces fellow gambling firm Kaiyun Sports after it’s two-year deal at the City Ground expired this summer.
Forest posted a record-breaking revenue for 2023-24 after their turnover improved from £155million to £190million.
That was driven by a substantial uplift in commercial revenue from £19million to £45million as they look to cash in on opportunities at the City Ground.
Nottingham Forest facing sponsor issue after gambling ban
This article contains exclusive comment from Stefan Borson, a former financial adviser to Man City.
Forest’s deal with Bally’s will only last for a year as Premier League clubs have agreed a ban on front-of-shirt gambling sponsors from the start of the 2026-27 campaign.
Elsewhere, West Ham agreed a similar deal with BoyleSports this summer, with the Irish betting firm believed to be paying around £10million.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider about Forest’s deal with Bally’s, Borson said: “Well, it’s late. It would have been better to have done it on the first day of replica sales.
“But it’s a good brand. It’s a global brand. Probably paying maybe £8million, something like that.
“It’s better to have it than not have it. If you don’t have a shirt sponsor for a season, you can’t resell it, it’s gone. It’s a wasting asset, so you do need to sell it.
“This is the strange thing about the Chelsea situation as we get later and later.
“It may be that they announce it this week before the start of the season, but it seems to me it does not make sense to be entering into a shirt sponsor after the start of the season because you lose a big benefit for the advertiser of having the replica sales, and all of the sort of pre-season kind of access to the brand.
“But it’s another gaming sponsor, which obviously we know they can’t have the season after, so they’re going to have to find some quality brands or find ways around it.”
Nottingham Forest racing to agree Douglas Luiz deal
In terms of a potential incoming at the City Ground, Football Insider revealed on 4 August Forest are racing to sign Douglas Luiz on loan, with West Ham and Manchester United also in the mix for the midfielder’s signature.
Juventus have taken disciplinary action against Luiz this summer after he failed to report for pre-season training, but that hasn’t put off the Premier League trio.
The Brazil international started in just six of his 27 appearances in the 2024-25 campaign after joining the Italian giants from Aston Villa last summer.
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