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Serie A giants Lazio have agreed a new front of shirt sponsorship deal with prediction market operator Polymarket worth at least US$22 million– the company’s such partnership with a major European soccer team.
The multi-year deal is effective immediately and expires at the end of the 2027/28 season, with an option to extend for another year to 2029.
Lazio had been without a shirt sponsor since its two-year deal with Binance expired at the end of the 2022/23 season, making it the only club in Italian soccer’s top flight without a principal partner.
The total value of the deal is equivalent to around an average of €9 million (US$10.59 million) a season. The Milan clubs benefit from the most lucrative arrangements in the division, with Inter and AC Milan earning €30 million (US$35.31 million) a year from bookmaker Betsson and airline Emirates respectively.
Juventus receive €19 million (US$22.36 million) from Jeep, whose parent company Stellantis is also owned by the Agnelli family, rising to €23 million (US$27.07 million) next year, as well as €4 million (US$3.39 million) from Visit Detroit. Defending champions Napoli have a partnership with MSC Cruises worth €9 million annually. AS Roma’s deal with Eurobet is worth €8 million (US$9.42 million) this year and €13 million (US$15.3 million) next.
Several other clubs with links to other businesses have even more favourable deals. Fiorentina receive €25 million (US$29.43 million) from owners Mediacom in sponsorship revenue, while businesses associated with Cremonese contribute €42 million (US$49 million) according to Gazzetta Dello Sport.
Polymarket will also be Lazio’s ‘official fan intelligence and digital insight partner’, with the club boasting that it will be one of a “selected group” of European clubs chosen by the company to develop new forms of “interaction between sport, data and technology.”
“Polymarket is a partner that interprets the future, capable of reading and analysing trends with innovative tools,” said Lazio president Claudio Lotito. “This agreement strengthens Lazio’s path of international development and confirms the club’s desire to position itself as an increasingly modern, open, and competitive entity in the new landscape of global sport.”
“Lazio represents a historic institution with a forward-looking vision,” added Polymarket chief marketing officer Matthew Modabber. “We are proud to collaborate with a club that shares our approach to innovation and the enhancement of data, with the aim of building new experiences and new models in the world of sport.”
Both statements fail to mention prediction markets by name, but this is almost certainly the start of a push by Polymarket to promote both the concept of both prediction markets and its platform outside the US.
Prediction markets see customers exchange contracts tied to the result of a particular event, with their value appreciating or depreciating accordingly. Platforms, such as Polymarket and Kalshi, have exploded in popularity in the US where they operate under federal commodities and derivatives regulation, which is overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), rather than traditional state gambling laws. This means the service can be offered in states where betting is not legal.
However, legislation in several European countries is explicitly clear that any activity described by prediction market operators would be treated as betting operators and subject to the same oversight. This is true in Italy, where Polymarket would require a licence from regulator ADM.
Additionally, sports betting advertising has been illegal in Italy since 2018. Serie A has a central betting partner in 1XBet, however elements such as virtual advertising are geotargeted towards viewers outside the country, and clubs are banned from entering shirt sponsorship agreements with bookmakers.
This has necessitated some thinly veiled workarounds. Inter’s shirts bear the branding of Betsson’s media division ‘Betsson Sport’ rather than its betting business, while Roma’s kits are adorned by the logo of the ‘Eurobet.live’ live scores service rather than the eponymous bookmaker.
Either way, Lazio is convinced that its new deal is legal.
In any case, there are signs that the Italian government is prepared to relax its stance on gambling advertising amid complaints from sports organisations that they are missing out on vital revenues. This is especially true in soccer, where Serie A is seeking to close the financial gap on England’s Premier League.
Premier League clubs themselves are about to be constrained by a voluntary ban on front-of-shirt sponsorships from the end of the current campaign that could lead to a 38 per cent decrease in deal value. Clubs will still be free to sign club partnerships, sleeve sponsorship, and perimeter advertising deals, however the government has indicated it could ban arrangements with bookmakers who do not hold a UK licence.
As prediction markets eye international expansion, Premier League clubs might see the likes of Polymarket as a potential new source of revenue. However, the Gambling Commission has said prediction markets are similar to betting exchanges that have been operated by the likes of Betfair since 2000 and, as such, would be regulated as a ‘betting intermediary’.
There’s also the question of whether prediction markets will have the same appeal in European markets where sports betting is long established and regulated on a national level, while many clubs will have the same ethical considerations when associating themselves with an activity that has generated public health concerns.
Major League Soccer (MLS) and LaLiga have both signed prediction deal markets with Polymarket, although the latter is exclusive to the US.
As platforms multiply, audiences fragment and media rights deals plateau, it’s time to understand what’s really going on in sports media. Join us at SportsPro London this April to learn more.